The Hellfire Club
Medmenham Abbey, on the banks of the River Thames in Buckinghamshire, was once known for being the venue for The Hellfire Club, for Rakes. Dissolution, in more ways than one.
A Cistercian abbey was founded in Medmenham in the 12th century under the ownership of Woburn Abbey, though it was not officially recognised by royal charter until 1200. It was dedicated to St. Mary but closed in 1536.
In 1547, at the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the abbey was seized and given to the Moore family and then sold privately to the Duffields. It was while in the possession of the Duffields that the abbey became infamous as the location of The Hellfire Club, headed by Sir Francis Dashwood, formerly called the Monks of Medmenham who used it for "obscene parodies of religious rites" according to one source, between the mid 1700s and 1774, though the club was already in disrepute by 1762. During that era, it was renovated to resemble a Gothic building. Eventually, the meetings were moved out of the abbey.
Dashwood had leased the ruins of the abbey from the Duffield family. After the Club was defunct (by 1763), the property was sold to the Chief Justice of Chester. In 1898 the building was modified, and since then it has no longer resembled an abbey. Subsequent renovations were completed in the 20th century.
Today the building is a private residence and is not open to the public. The property has been Grade II listed since 1955.
The Hellfire Club
Medmenham Abbey, on the banks of the River Thames in Buckinghamshire, was once known for being the venue for The Hellfire Club, for Rakes. Dissolution, in more ways than one.
A Cistercian abbey was founded in Medmenham in the 12th century under the ownership of Woburn Abbey, though it was not officially recognised by royal charter until 1200. It was dedicated to St. Mary but closed in 1536.
In 1547, at the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the abbey was seized and given to the Moore family and then sold privately to the Duffields. It was while in the possession of the Duffields that the abbey became infamous as the location of The Hellfire Club, headed by Sir Francis Dashwood, formerly called the Monks of Medmenham who used it for "obscene parodies of religious rites" according to one source, between the mid 1700s and 1774, though the club was already in disrepute by 1762. During that era, it was renovated to resemble a Gothic building. Eventually, the meetings were moved out of the abbey.
Dashwood had leased the ruins of the abbey from the Duffield family. After the Club was defunct (by 1763), the property was sold to the Chief Justice of Chester. In 1898 the building was modified, and since then it has no longer resembled an abbey. Subsequent renovations were completed in the 20th century.
Today the building is a private residence and is not open to the public. The property has been Grade II listed since 1955.