Anglesey Abbey, Cambridgeshire
Anglesey Abbey, near Lode in Cambridgeshire, was originally part of a 13th century priory for Augustinian Canons. They were expelled during the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the late 1530s and the building was converted into a country house around 1600 by Thomas Hobson. Its external appearance is generally of a house of that period though parts of the building are very much older. There have also been substantial extensions during the 19th and 20th centuries. At one point in the 18th century it was owned by Sir George Downing, who endowed Downing College, Cambridge.
The estate’s last private owner was the first Lord Fairhaven, who bought it in 1926. He fully restored the house which had fallen into disrepair and began to collect beautiful furniture, artworks and statuary, which can still be seen today. In the 1930’s he laid out beautiful gardens in the style of the 18th century. He died in 1966 without any heirs, and left the Grade I-listed house and its gardens to the National Trust.
Anglesey Abbey, Cambridgeshire
Anglesey Abbey, near Lode in Cambridgeshire, was originally part of a 13th century priory for Augustinian Canons. They were expelled during the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the late 1530s and the building was converted into a country house around 1600 by Thomas Hobson. Its external appearance is generally of a house of that period though parts of the building are very much older. There have also been substantial extensions during the 19th and 20th centuries. At one point in the 18th century it was owned by Sir George Downing, who endowed Downing College, Cambridge.
The estate’s last private owner was the first Lord Fairhaven, who bought it in 1926. He fully restored the house which had fallen into disrepair and began to collect beautiful furniture, artworks and statuary, which can still be seen today. In the 1930’s he laid out beautiful gardens in the style of the 18th century. He died in 1966 without any heirs, and left the Grade I-listed house and its gardens to the National Trust.