December
1135 A.D. Anglesey Priory, Lode
Cambridgeshire—Augustinian Canons Regular;
Founded 1135 by Henry 1;
Initially a Hospital; Became
Priory 1212 & Endowed by Richard de Clare, Earl of Gloucester; Dissolved Before 7 Aug 1536; Remains Incorporated as Private House Named
“Anglesey Abbey”
About 6 miles NE of Cambridge
Anglesey Abbey
From Wikipedia, the free
encyclopedia
South facing front of the house
Visitor entrance at rear of house
Anglesey Abbey is a country house, formerly a priory, in the village of Lode, 5 1⁄2 miles (8.9 km) northeast of Cambridge, England. The house and its grounds are owned by the National Trust and are open to the public as part of the Anglesey
Abbey, Garden & Lode Mill property, although some parts remain the private
home of the Fairhaven family.
The 98 acres (400,000 m²) of
landscaped grounds are divided into a number of walks and gardens, with
classical statuary, topiary and flowerbeds. The grounds were laid out in an
18th-century style by the estate's last private owner, the 1st Baron Fairhaven, in the 1930s. A large pool, the Quarry Pool, is
believed to be the site of a 19th-century coprolite mine. Lode Water Mill, dating from the 18th century[1] was restored to working condition in 1982 and now
sells flour to visitors.
The 1st Lord Fairhaven also
improved the house and decorated its interior with a valuable collection of
furniture, pictures and objets d'art.
Contents
History
Lode Mill, situated on the edge of the gardens
The former priory was acquired
around 1600 by Thomas Hobson, who converted it to a country house for his
son-in-law, Thomas Parker, retaining a few arches from the original priory. At
that time the building's name was changed to "Anglesey Abbey", which
sounded grander than the original "Anglesey Priory".
Further alterations to the
building were carried out in 1861.
Huttleston (1896–1966) and Henry (1900–1973) Broughton bought
the site in 1926 and made improvements to the house. They were the sons of Urban
Broughton (1857–1929), who had made a fortune in the mining and railway industries in
America. Henry married, leaving the abbey to his brother, then 1st Lord
Fairhaven, in 1930. Henry became the 2nd Lord Fairhaven. Huttleston used his
wealth to indulge his interests in history, art, and garden design, and to lead
an eighteenth-century lifestyle at the house. On his death, Huttleston left the
abbey to the National Trust so that the house and gardens could "represent
an age and way of life that was quickly passing".
Huttleston Broughton
Advertisement for sale of Anglesey Abbey in 1926.
Lieutenant Huttleston Broughton in full dress
uniform of the First Life Guards.
In 1926 Anglesey Abbey was
bought by Huttleston Broughton, later Lord Fairhaven. He fully restored the
house which had fallen into disrepair and began to collect beautiful furniture,
artworks and statuary. All of these can be seen at the Abbey today.
Broughton (full name Urban
Huttleston Rogers Broughton) was born in 1896 in Fairhaven,
Massachusetts. His father, Urban Broughton, had amassed a considerable fortune. His
mother was Cara Leland Rogers the daughter of multimillionaire American oil
magnate Henry
Huttleston Rogers. Rogers had died unexpectedly in 1909 and Urban Broughton had taken over
the management of a large part of the Rogers empire.[3]
The Broughton family had moved
to England in 1912 when Huttleston was sixteen. They lived in Park Lane, Mayfair. Huttleston was educated at Harrow and
the Royal Military College at Sandhurst. In 1916 he became a lieutenant in the 1st Life
Guards. He served during the First
World War, and retired from the military in 1924.[4] He obtained the title Baron Fairhaven in 1929.
One of Huttleston’s great
achievements was the establishment of the garden at the house. In 1964, when
Broughton was still living, Lanning Roper wrote a book entitled The Gardens of Anglesey Abbey,[5] in which he described the careful planning of this
remarkable garden with its many vistas, avenues, rare and common trees, pools,
statues and river temples. He describes the way in which huge areas of sky and
mown grass were, been used to balance symmetrical planting and how Broughton
used the trees and shrubs to make groups of contrasting colour and foliage.
To commemorate the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in 1937, Broughton planted an extensive avenue of
trees with a crossing avenue at the far end. The trees used were London plane
alternating with horse chestnut in four rows copy that planted in Windsor Great
Park.[6]
Huttleston did not marry and
had no heirs. He died in 1966 and left Anglesey Abbey to the National Trust.
Origin of the name
The name Anglesey is not a reference to the Welsh island known as Anglesey in English, although the two names do have some etymology in common. Anglesey Priory was built on what was,
before improvements in the drainage of the area, an island. In both place
names, as in many other place names in Britain, the final -ey is from a Germanic word meaning 'isle'. In the case of the Welsh island, Angle- is from an Old Norse word ǫngull, which is either a personal name, or a word meaning 'angle' or 'corner'.
In the case of the Priory, Angle- is probably a reference to the Angles, a Germanic people who invaded the east of England in the 5th century. The
anterior origin of this name is debatable, with some versions linking it to 'angle', a reference to
the shape of their homeland, and others claiming a reference to 'angling'.
However, it is likely that the name refers to the fact that the Fens and its
islands were home to a native British (Brythonic) population, and that the Angles were an
island community within a predominantly Celtic landscape.
Gardens
Aerial view of the house and gardens
The extensive landscaped gardens
are popular with visitors throughout the year. The most visited areas include
the rose garden and the dahlia garden, which contain many dozens of varieties. Out of season the spring
garden and winter dell are famed nationally, particularly in February when the snowdrops first appear. The lawns of the South Park are mown
less frequently and this allows the many wildflowers to flower and set seed. Over 50 species of
wildflower have been recorded, including Bee Orchid,Twayblade, Pyramidal Orchid and Common
spotted orchid. In mid-summer, there are large numbers of butterflies such as Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper, Small Skippers and Marbled
Whites.
Snowdrops
in front of the house
Rose Garden
Formal
Garden with Hyacinths in Spring
Part of the
"Winter Walk" in Spring
Winter Walk
in Summer
Coronation
Avenue
The Circular
Temple
External links
Notes
5. Jump up^ Roper, Lanning 1964 The Gardens of Anglesey Abbey, Faber and
Faber, Cambridgeshire.
6. Jump up^ Thomas, Graham Stuart, 2003
“Recollections of Great Gardeners”, Frances Lincoln Ltd, London, p. 91.
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