Woburn Abbey

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Woburn Abbey
General information
Type Stately home
Location Woburn, Bedfordshire
Country England
Coordinates 51°58′59″N 0°35′48″W / 51.9831°N 0.5968°W / 51.9831; -0.5968
Design and construction
Owner Duke of Bedford

Woburn Abbey (pronounced Woe-burn, or until c.1960 "Woob'n"), near Woburn, Bedfordshire, England, is a country house, the seat of the Duke of Bedford and the location of the Woburn Safari Park.[1]

Contents

[edit] Pre-20th century

Woburn Abbey, comprising Woburn Park and its buildings, was originally founded as a Cistercian abbey in 1145.[2] Taken from its monastic residents by Henry VIII and given to John 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 architects Henry 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]

[edit] 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."

[edit] 1970s to Present

The west front of Woburn Abbey, as seen approaching the house.

The 13th Duke moved to Monte Carlo in 1975.[4] His son Robin, who enjoyed the courtesy title Marquess of Tavistock, ran the Abbey with his wife in his father's absence.

In 1970, Lucio Fulci filmed scenes for A Lizard in a Woman's Skin there. 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.[5]

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 Productions reality 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.[6] 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.

[edit] 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 a superlative range of furniture, both French and English, porcelain and silverwork.

[edit] Paintings

View of the entrance to the Arsenal, Canaletto, 1732
The Armada Portrait of Elizabeth I, 1588?

Dutch School

English School

Flemish School

French School

German School

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 Sassaferrato) - 2 paintings

Spanish School

  • Murillo, Bartolomé Esteban - 1 painting
  • Velasquez, Diego - 1 painting (Portrait of Admiral Pulido Peraja, Captain General of the Armada Fleet of New Spain)

[edit] Books, films and television

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 two Scotland 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.[7]

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).[8]

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 the Willamette Valley of Oregon in what was the United States of America.

[edit] See also

[edit] Bibliography

  • Elizabeth, Angelicoussis (1992). The Woburn Abbey Collection of Classical Antiquities, MAR XX. Zabern. ISBN 978-3805313032. 

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/646393/Woburn-Abbey
  2. ^ a b "Woburn, England - LoveToKnow 1911". Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition. Encyclopædia Britannica. 2005-12-15. http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Woburn,_England. Retrieved 2008-10-06. 
  3. ^ Woburn Abbey: Food and Drink
  4. ^ "The Duchess of Bedford" by Nicole Nobody
  5. ^ Coronation Street
  6. ^ [1]
  7. ^ [2]
  8. ^ [3]

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Woburn Abbey
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Woburn_Abbey&oldid=462399595"
Personal tools
Namespaces
Variants
Actions
Navigation
Interaction
Toolbox
Print/export
Languages