Woburn Abbey
Woburn Abbey | |
---|---|
Stately home | |
Location | Woburn, Bedfordshire |
Country | England |
Coordinates | 51°58′59″N 0°35′48″W / 51.9831°N 0.5968°W |
Owner | Duke of Bedford |
Listed Building – Grade I | |
Designated | 22 October 1952 |
Reference no. | 1114006[1] |
National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens | |
Designated | 30 November 1986 |
Reference no. | 1000364[2] |
Woburn Abbey (/ˈwoʊbərn/),[n 1][3] occupying the east of the village of Woburn, Bedfordshire, England, is a country house, the family seat of the Duke of Bedford. Although it is still a family home to the current duke, it is open on specified days to visitors, along with the diverse estate surrounding it, including the historic landscape gardens and deer park (by Humphry Repton), as well as more recently added attractions including Woburn Safari Park, a miniature railway and a garden/visitor centre. It was built by William Russell, 1st Baron Russell of Thornhaugh.
Pre-20th century
Monastic origins
Woburn Abbey, comprising Woburn Park and its buildings, was set out and founded as a
The Cistercian community was dissolved by Henry VIII in 1538[4]Early Russell family rebuilding projects
In 1547 the estate became the seat of the Russell family and the
Eighteenth Century
The second rebuilding occurred under architects Henry Flitcroft and John Sanderson between 1747 and 1761.[6]
In April 1786 John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, both future Presidents of the United States, visited Woburn Abbey and other notable houses in the area. After visiting them Adams wrote in his diary "Stowe, Hagley, and Blenheim, are superb; Woburn, Caversham, and the Leasowes are beautiful. Wotton is both great and elegant, though neglected".[7] However he was also damning about the means used to finance the large estates, and he did not think that the embellishments to the landscape made by the owners of the great country houses would suit the more rugged American countryside.[7]
Further rework undertaken between 1787 and 1790 was directed by Henry Holland.[6]
Second World War
Visiting Woburn Abbey in March 1939, the MP and diarist
From 1941 Woburn Abbey was the headquarters of the secretive Political Warfare Executive (PWE) which had its London offices at the BBC's Bush House.[9]
1945 to 1970s
Following
1970s to present
The 13th Duke moved to Monte Carlo in 1975.[11] His son Robin, who enjoyed the courtesy title Marquess of Tavistock, ran the Abbey with his wife in his father's absence.[citation needed]
In the early 1990s, the Marquess and
From 1999 to 2002, the Marquess and the Marchioness, the former Henrietta Joan Tiarks, were the subjects of the
The Marquess of Tavistock became the 14th Duke on the death of his father in November 2002 in Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States. The 14th Duke was the briefest holder of the Dukedom and died in June 2003.[citation needed]
On the death of the 14th Duke, his son Andrew became the 15th Duke, and he continues his father's work in running the Woburn Abbey Estate. The building is listed in the highest category of architecture at Grade I.[1]
Collection
The art collection of the Duke of Bedford is extensive and encompasses a wide range of western artwork. The holdings comprise some 250 paintings, including works by Rubens, Van Dyck, Canaletto and Velasquez. Moreover, the collection encompasses examples of the finest manufacturers of furniture, French and English in many periods, and a diverse collection of porcelain and silverware.[2][failed verification]
Paintings
Dutch School
- Asselyn, Jan – 1 painting
- Cuyp, Aelbert Jacobsz– 5 paintings
- Delen, Dirk van – 1 painting
- Flinck, Govert – 1 painting
- Goyen, Jan van – 1 painting
- Potter, Paulus – 2 paintings (A Hawking Party, 1653)
- Rembrandt, Harmenszoon van Rijn – 2 paintings (Boaz, 1643 and Self-portrait, 1640)
- Ruisdael, Jacob van– 2 paintings
- Steen, Jan – 2 paintings
- Velde, Willem van de Velde (the Younger) – 1 painting
- Werff, Adrian van der – 1 painting
English School
- Gainsborough, Thomas – 1 painting
- Gheeraerts, Marcus (the Younger) – 2 paintings
- Hayter, Sir George – 4 paintings
- Hoppner, John – 2 paintings
- Knapton, George – 1 painting
- Landseer, Edwin Henry– 2 paintings
- Reynolds, Joshua – 12 paintings
- George Gower – (The Armada Portrait of Elizabeth I, 1588?, one of the greatest English portraits in existence)
Flemish School
- Critz, John de – 1 painting
- Dyck, Anthony van – 10 paintings (Aubert Lemire, Dean of Antwerp, c. 1630)
- Eworth, Hans – 1 painting
French School
- Bercham, Nicholas – 1 painting
- Lorrain, Claude (known as Claude Gellée) – 2 paintings
- Lefebvre, Claude– 1 painting
- Loo, Carl van – 1 painting (Portrait of Louis XV)
- Poussin, Nicolas – 2 paintings
- Vernet, Claude Joseph– 2 paintings
German School
- Holbein, Hans (the Younger) – 1 painting
Italian School
- Batoni, Pompeo – 1 painting
- Canaletto – 24 paintings (View of the Entrance to the Venetian Arsenal, c. 1732 – one of Canaletto's greatest works)
- Ricci, Sebastiano – 1 painting
- Salvi, Giovanni (Il Sassoferrato) – 2 paintings
Spanish School
- Murillo, Bartolomé Esteban – 1 painting
- Velázquez, Diego – 1 painting (Portrait of Admiral Pulido Pareja, Captain General of the Armada Fleet of New Spain)
Media appearances
Woburn has been used as a location for filming including: "Five Clues To Fortune" (1957);
In
See also
- List of monastic houses in Bedfordshire
- Robert Salmon (1763–1821), architect of many buildings on the Duke of Bedford's estate
Notes and references
- Notes
- References
- ^ a b Historic England. "Woburn Abbey (Grade I) (1114006)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
- ^ a b Historic England. "Woburn Abbey (Park and Garden) (Grade I) (1000364)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
- ^ "Woburn Abbey". Collins Dictionary. n.d. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
- ^ a b "The Cistercian Abbey of Woburn". bedsarchives.bedford.gov.uk. 20 January 2023. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
- ^ Motton, David (1 March 2013). "Woburn Abbey". Britain Magazine | The official magazine of Visit Britain | Best of British History, Royal Family,Travel and Culture. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
- ^ a b c "Woburn Abbey". bedsarchives.bedford.gov.uk. 22 June 2019. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
The ministry reckoned that the current building does incorporate some of the fabric of the medieval abbey and notes that the first rebuilding took place around 1630 by Francis, the 4th Earl.
- ^ a b Adams & Adams 1851, p. 394.
- ^ Henry ("Chips") Channon The Diaries 1938-43 (Vol. 2), edited by Simon Heffer, Penguin 2021.
- ^ "Political Warfare Executive and Foreign Office, Political Intelligence Department: Papers (Ref: FO 898)". Discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk. The National Archives. 1938–1973. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
- ^ a b "Boxoffice Now Lifts The Family Mortgage". Variety. 27 November 1963. p. 1.
- ^ "The Duchess of Bedford" by Nicole Nobody
- ^ "Benidorm Series 1". TigerAspect.co.uk. 9 May 2013.
- ^ "ITV – Coronation Street". solarnavigator.net.
- ^ "IMDb: Most Popular Titles With Filming Locations Matching "Woburn Abbey"". IMDb.
- ISBN 0142402184.
References
- Adams, John; Adams, Charles Francis (1851). The Works of John Adams, Second President of the United States: Autobiography, continued. Diary. Essays and controversial papers of the Revolution. The Works of John Adams, Second President of the United States. Vol. 3. Little, Brown. p. 394.
Attribution:
- Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 28 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 767.
Further reading
- Angelicoussis, Elizabeth (1992). The Woburn Abbey Collection of Classical Antiquities, Monumenta Artis Romanae XX. Zabern. ISBN 978-3-8053-1303-2.