Buckland Abbey & Garden - National Trust

Buckland Abbey, Garden & Estate

Near Tavistock, Devon

 

National Trust. Memmbers pay coach only.

 

Discovery, tranquillity and history – an ancient gem in the Tavy Valley landscape When you visit Buckland, you follow over 700 years of footsteps; from the Cistercians who built the Abbey and farmed the estate, to seafarers Grenville and Drake who changed the shape of the house and the fate of the country.

 

Founded in 1278, Buckland Abbey was the last of the Cistercian monasteries to be built in medieval England and Wales. For over 250 years, the monks who farmed the vast estate lived in the peaceful solitude of the Tavy valley. The Dissolution of the Monasteries saw Buckland sold to Sir Roger Grenville, who began to modify the abbey into a house and home, and later it was sold again to privateer Sir Francis Drake, the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe.

 

The Abbey is part museum, part house, and filled with treasures. The original Abbey was converted into a Tudor mansion home by Richard Grenville in 1541. As you approach the Abbey you will see evidence of Grenvilles conversion with markings on the wall showing where the south transept of the church once was.

 

The Great Hall was perhaps the first room that was created and the Tudor floor still remains to this day. The hall displays the flamboyance of the Elizabethan era with stone carvings, tudor wooden panelling and elaborate platered ceilings. There’s no mistaking the magnificence of the Great Barn, which has remained virtually unchanged since it was built all those centuries ago.

 

The Tudor kitchen which is still used today by the volunteers on special event days, shows how a Tudor kitchen would have looked. You will also be able to see the Georgian additions such as the charcoal range.

 

The Chapel at Buckland is particularly special as this was discovered by one of Buckland residents, the last Lady Drake to live in the Abbey. During repair work in 1917 the site of the high alter of the monks was uncovered. Visitors will be able to look in and see the focal point for the Cistercian worshippers.

 

The impressive great barn, a mark of the monks' wealth and influence, was used for the storage and winnowing of corn. Today it is home to a cider press, a reminder of the 27 acres of orchards that once stretched down to the river.

 

You’ll discover meadows, orchards and woodlands where you can enjoy far-reaching views of the Tavy Valley. Our way-marked trails are a riot of colour through the seasons, with an unmissable carpet of bluebells in spring. At the Cider House, herbaceous borders provide seasonal interest and a secret ‘wild’ garden is a wonderful place for quiet contemplation (or a game of hide and seek).

 

Find your favourite spot and you’ll want to come back to Buckland time and again.

Buckland Abbey