April 1145-1538 A.D. Woburn Abbey (Cistercian), Woburn, Bedfordshire, England—Founded by Hugh de Bolbec; Granted to John Lord Russel, 1547
April
1145-1538 A.D. Woburn
Abbey (Cistercian), Woburn, Bedfordshire, England—Founded by Hugh de Bolbec;
Granted to John Lord Russel, 1547; John
Adams & Thomas Jefferson Tour Woburn; Currently a Mansion, Estate and Park
Wiki-offerings.Woburn Abbey (/woʊbən/[n 1][1]) 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, garden/visitor centre and a new Center Parcs village.
Contents
Pre-20th
century
Woburn Abbey,
comprising Woburn Park and its buildings, was set out and founded as a Cistercian abbey in 1145.[2] Taken
from its monastic residents by Henry VIII and given toJohn
Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford, in 1547, it became
the seat of the Russell family and the Dukes of Bedford. The Abbey was
largely rebuilt starting in 1744 by the architectsHenry Flitcroft and Henry Holland for the 4th
Duke.[2] Anna
Maria, the wife of the 7th
Duke, originated the afternoon tea ritual in 19th-century
England.[3][4]
In April 1786 John Adams (the
future second President of the United States on tour with Thomas Jefferson—who would serve as
his vice president before becoming President himself) visited Woburn Abbey and
other notable houses in the area. After visiting them he 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".[5] However
in his diary 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.[5]
1945
to 1970s
The
layout of Woburn before partial demolition.
Following World War II, dry rot was
discovered and half the Abbey was subsequently demolished. When the 12th Duke died
in 1953, his son the 13th
Duke was
exposed to heavy death duties and the Abbey was a half-demolished,
half-derelict house. Instead of handing the family estates over to the National Trust, he kept ownership
and opened the Abbey to the public for the first time in 1955. It soon gained
in popularity as other amusements were added, including Woburn Safari Park on the grounds of the
Abbey in 1970. Asked about the unfavourable comments by other aristocrats when
he turned the family home into a safari park, the 13th Duke said, "I do
not relish the scorn of the peerage, but it is better to be looked down on than
overlooked."
1970s to present
The 13th Duke moved to Monte Carlo in 1975.[6] His son Robin, who enjoyed the courtesy title Marquess of Tavistock, ran the Abbey with his wife in his father's absence.
In the early 1990s,
the Marquess and The Tussauds Group planned to turn the
Abbey into a large theme park with
the help of John Wardley, creator of the roller coasters "Nemesis"
and "Oblivion".
However, Tussauds bought Alton Towers and built one there
instead.
From 1999 to 2002, the
Marquess and the Marchioness, the former Henrietta Joan Tiarks, were the
subjects of the Tiger Aspect
Productionsreality series Country House in three series,
totalling 29 episodes, which aired on BBC Two. It detailed the
daily life and the business of running the Abbey.[7] It
inspired several Monarch
of the Glen storylines.
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.
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.[8]
Collection
The art collection of
the Duke of Bedford is amongst the finest
in private hands, 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 most expensive
manufacturers of furniture, French and English in many periods, and a diverse
collection of porcelain and silverware.[9]
Paintings
Dutch School
·
Asselyn, Jan - 1 painting
·
Delen, Dirk van - 1 painting
·
Goyen, Jan van - 1 painting
·
Werff, Adrian van der - 1 painting
English School
·
Hayter, Sir George - 4 paintings
·
Hoppner, John - 2 paintings
·
Knapton, George - 1 painting
·
George Gower -
(The Armada Portrait of Elizabeth I,
1588?, one of the greatest English portraits in existence)
Flemish School
French School
·
Bercham, Nicholas - 1 painting
German School
Italian School
·
Canaletto - 24 paintings (View
of the Entrance to the Venetian Arsenal, c. 1732 - one of Canaletto's
greatest works)
Spanish School
·
Velázquez, Diego -
1 painting (Portrait of Admiral Pulido Peraja, Captain General of the Armada
Fleet of New Spain)
Books,
films and television
In 1970, Lucio Fulci filmed scenes for A Lizard in a
Woman's Skin there.[citation
needed] In
May 1973, scenes from Coronation Street were set there and
featured a cameo by the 13th Duke. He played himself greeting the characters:
one of them, Hilda Ogden, was very impressed
with the 'Canney-Letty' [sic]
(Canaletto) room.[10]
In Anthony Horowitz's 1987 book Public Enemy Number
Two, the book's main character Nick Diamond is framed for the
theft of the Woburn Carbuncles as part of a plan by twoScotland Yard detectives to imprison
him in order to find out the identity of a criminal mastermind known as The
Fence—who ironically turns out to be the class teacher who was supervising
Diamond and the other children on the school trip to Woburn Abbey.[11]
The Children's Film
Foundation made a movie in 1957 called Five
Clues to Fortune aka The Treasure at Woburn Abbey which was re-released on DVD at
amazon.de (Geheimsache fuenf, it has the English track and the German
dubbing).[12] Director
Joe Mendoza filmed in and around Woburn Abbey and the Wildlife Park. David Hemmings andDavid Cameron play major parts.[citation
needed]
In 1977 and again in
2003 singer Neil Diamond held a series of concerts
on the front lawn of the Abbey. The 1977 concerts were a part of a television
programe broadcast in the United States.[citation
needed]
In film and
television, Woburn Abbey has been used as a filming location for films and
programs including The Iron Maiden (1962), The
Flower of Gloster (1967)
and Treasure
Hunt (1986).[13]
In The Protector's War,
a post-apocalyptic alternate history novel by S. M. Stirling, Woburn Abbey serves
as a prison for an English knight; the knight is rescued and flees to theWillamette Valley of Oregon in what was the United
States of America.
See also
Notes and
references
Notes
References
8.
Jump up^ Woburn
Abbey - Grade I English
Heritage. "Details
from listed building database (1114006)". National Heritage List for
England.
9.
Jump up^ Woburn
Abbey (Park and Garden) - Grade I - English
Heritage. "Details
from listed building database (1000364)". National Heritage List for
England.
12.
Jump up^ amazon.de.
Amazon.Com http://www.amazon.de/Geheimsache-f%C3%BCnf-John-Rogers/dp/B00H7O26TA
|url= missing title (help). Retrieved 16 June 2014.
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 3. Little, Brown,. p. 394.
Attribution
·
Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Woburn,
England". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge
University Press.
Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Woburn,
England". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge
University Press.
Further
reading
·
Angelicoussis, Elizabeth
(1992). The Woburn Abbey Collection of Classical Antiquities, Monumenta
Artis Romanae XX. Zabern. ISBN 978-3-8053-1303-2.
External
links
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