Exploring the gardens of Woburn Abbey

Woburn Abbey is a country house, the family seat of the Duke of Bedford. Although it is still a family home to the current duke, it is open on specified days to visitors, along with the diverse estate surrounding it, including the historic landscape gardens and deer park (by Humphry Repton), as well as more recently added attractions including Woburn Safari Park. It also has (but we did not see) a miniature railway and a garden/visitor centre.
It was set out and founded as a Cistercian abbey in 1145. 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. Anna Russell, Duchess of Bedford, originated the afternoon tea ritual in 19th-century England.

Lion Lodge is an attractive building at the entrance to Woburn Park along the road leading from Woburn to Eversholt through the park itself. I was more interested in the gate piers so did not photograph the lodge!

Closeup of the lion on top of its pier.

Some deer went for a spot of sunbathing ...

.... while others opted for a cooling off in the stream.

This little fellow ran across our path and then obliged by sitting very still on a nearby branch.

The front of Woburn Abbey taken as we drove in on the `long route` toward the parking area.

The rear of the stately home.

The sculpture garden

Looking toward the Rockery

In 1802 Repton was commissioned by the 6th Duke to produce designs for enhancing the gardens and deer park. The Duke wanted to create points of interest for the guests he entertained at Woburn Abbey.

The rockery and pavilion formed part of Repton’s plans for formal ‘Pleasure Grounds’ at Woburn Abbey and illustrations of all of Repton’s designs and ideas were collated in his Red Book. This book was completed in 1805 and is still held at the Abbey today. The Woburn Estate has the greatest number of realised Repton plans in the UK, but until 2011 the rockery stood uncompleted.

In 2009 the Gardens Team began restoring the rockery, which had suffered from weather damage and was overgrown with trees, with the ultimate goal of recreating Repton’s original illustration.

In 2011 F Martin Ltd were commissioned to build the pavilion and, together with the Abbey Gardens Team, constructed it on the top of the rockery. It took four weeks to build and a week to put together on site.

 The Bog Garden

 To quote their website: Woburn Abbey Gardens are located on ribbons of clay and sand. Where the two meet, there is a spring as the water tracks up to the surface in between the different materials. As a result a boggy patch developed in this particular spot. 

Opened in 2007, this contemporary part of the garden was initiated after Her Grace, the Duchess of Bedford, asked if we could do something with this boggy turfed area. It didn't make sense to fight the natural condition of the area, so the Gardens Team decided to design and create a Bog Garden for the space.The Bog Garden construction includes 9 different sizes of gravel and boulders to make up the layout that you see today. It was designed to represent a dried up stream and is planted with bog loving plants, including a few carnivorous species.

Figure in the Bog Garden

The Sculpture Gallery, with Rosey photographing dragonfly on the lake. The Sculpture Gallery is used for weddings and other functions. What a beautiful setting, with it`s secluded gardens as well.

The English custom of taking afternoon tea was popularised in the 1840s by Duchess Anna Maria, wife of the 7th Duke of Bedford. A Lady-in-Waiting to Queen Victoria, Anna Maria began the custom of taking afternoon tea at around 5.00pm and it became a popular part of the day at Woburn Abbey and the Royal Palaces.

The 6th Duke of Bedford designed the Hornbeam Maze in 1831. The plaque over the entrance incorrectly states that this is a Labyrinth, as it is actually a maze. A maze is defined as a branching puzzle which has multiple paths and directions you can take. A labyrinth is defined as a puzzle that has only one non-branching path, which leads to the centre.

At the centre of the maze is The Chinese Pagoda which was built in 1833 and is based on a design by Sir William Chambers dated 1757. The Woburn Abbey Hornbeam Maze was 6 feet high when restoration work started but reduced to 3 feet and 6 inches - a big shock to such an old hedge.

The hornbeam was allowed to re-grow and then, over 2 years, slowly clipped it back to form the maze you can see in the gardens today. 

There was no physical evidence of the original Aviary, which was constructed in 1805, as it had been cleared during the war for easier maintenance of the gardens. The restoration of the Aviary in 2011 aimed to make Woburn Abbey Gardens more family friendly. The Aviary was returned to Woburn using etchings and descriptions of the building from an historic book about the Gardens called Hortus Woburnensis. It was reconstructed with a frame made of green oak. During the reconstruction a time capsule was placed in the roof of the structure which included photos of the Gardens Team, the Duke and Duchess and their children, and a newspaper from the day of completion. The Aviary is now home to golden pheasants, budgies and quail.

A cool place to sit on a very hot day!

In the village of Woburn are these cottages which were once almshouses, I believe. In 1968 the almshouses were settled on new trustees and registered with the Charity Commission. Both blocks were listed by English Heritage in March 1987 as Grade II, of special interest. The listing states that the present properties were erected by Francis, 7th Duke of Bedford, in 1850. They are built of yellow brick with dressings in render and have clay tiled roofs. Blocks built to the rear are in red brick. The dwellings comprise two storeys and are built in a “loosely Jacobean style”.
Their origins reach further back in time to when, on 29th May 1635 Sir Francis Staunton of Birchmoor made his will. One of the clauses read as follows (note the original spelling): “I will and bequeath forty pounds to be bestoed by my executor in house or land to the use of the poore of Woburne aforesaid for ever, within six yeares after my decease and in the meane tyme till the said house or Land shall be bought, in lew thereof I appoint my executor to give unto fortie of the poore Twelve pence a yeere upon the Eight day of december”. The trustees, many years late, bult the original amshouses.

The church, on Park Street, Woburn, was built to the designs of the architect Henry Clutton between 1865 and 1868 and paid for by William Russell, 8th Duke of Bedford. It replaced the old parish church in the village which, except for the tower, was demolished when the new church opened.

The tower was equipped with a monster bell (said to be the largest in a parish church at the time) of 55 cwt (6,160 pounds (2,790 kg)), cast in C by Mears and Stainbank of London.

On opening the church tower was surmounted by a spire which reached to a height of 181ft. This was itself crowned with a copper cross at its summit, which took the total height to 195 feet (59 m). However, structural problems caused the removal of the spire in 1890.

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Rosey filming for Countryfile at Woburn Abbey

A surprise message via Rosey's website led to a great couple of days in Woburn, with Rosey filming with the BBC Countryfile team! The message was from Katie, a researcher with the BBC, who was looking for a Macro bug photographer, preferable a female amateur photographer. Rosey fitted the bill! Katie also loved the images on Rosey's website.

The Countryfile 2020 Calendar has a theme of Beauty and the Beast, and Rosey was to be filmed being interviewed by John Craven, and photographing some bugs (Beasts).

In the morning we were able to search around the grounds of Woburn, courtesy of the staff, for a suitable area and Rosey did get some images. However, by the time the team got around to filming in the heat of the afternoon, most sensible bugs, and people, had run for cover!

With everyone wilting in the heat, filming got under way and was quickly completed. Rosey was later asked to supply some of her images to be used, we assume, in the programme.

John Craven, Rosey and Katie, the researcher. 

John Craven and Rosey in action.

One of the two cameramen.

The producer having a pre-filming chat.

Rosey being fitted with sound equipment as the team survey the chosen location

Prior to Rosey filming her slot with John Craven, we watched the team interviewing the Head gardener on the bridge in the Bog Garden

All in all a memorable occasion which will live long in Rosey`s memory. She deserved the opportunity, as she is an excellent macro photographer, and this was some recognition of that fact.

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The magnificent Helmingham Hall and Gardens

Helmingham Hall is a moated manor house in Helmingham, Suffolk, England. It was begun by John Tollemache in 1480 and has been owned by the Tollemache family ever since. The house is built around a courtyard in typical late medieval/Tudor style. The present Helmingham Hall may have been initially constructed in 1510 on the site of an earlier house called Creke Hall. The exterior was altered between 1745–1760, again in 1800 by John Nash, and in 1840. The original half-timbered walls have been concealed by brick and tiles. 

The house is surrounded by a moat, over which it is reached only by two working drawbridges, which have been pulled up every night since 1510. These were originally operated with a windlass but in recent years this has been replaced by an electric motor. 

Queen Elizabeth I is said to have twice visited Helmingham: first in 1561, and later to attend the christening of Lionel Tollemache as her godchild. Lionel Tollemache marked the first of ten consecutive generations of the family with that name. Furthermore, Helmingham has been privileged to receive Her Majesty The Queen Elizabeth II and other members of the Royal Family on many occasions over the last few years. 

My previous visit here was to the deer park and church, but today's visit was to see the gardens and get some closer images of the magnificent moated Tudor house.

The front of the Hall as you approach on the Oak Drive. (below)

The Oak Driveway 

Some of the famous Helmingham oaks in the Park are estimated to be up to 900 years old, and many have immense girths, but the splendid oak avenue leading up the front drive was planted about 1680. This avenue and many trees in the Park suffered terribly in the great storm of 1987; a large replanting scheme is being carried out so that future generations will see little change.

The main drawbridge at the front of the property.

The second drawbridge. 

Side view from the garden

Some views of the garden, above and below, taken on a really bright day. Consequently the colours are not as vibrant, I don't think, as they could be.

Meadow Brown

One part of the garden was devoted to a sort of `wild area` and had many butterflies in it. It is a long time since I have seen so many butterflies in one small area.

Two images of Small Skipper.

Many events are hosted at Helmingham Hall, including Motor Shows and outdoor Cinema showings. The gardens are an obvious attraction and in winter, when the gardens are closed, a wander around the outer Deer Park is well worth the effort.

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Snape and across the fields to Iken

Snape was on our itinerary for today as we knew of a walk from the Maltings toward the village of Iken. Wildlife, the Maltings as a concert venue, the shops - all add to the area being great to visit.

As it`s name implies, the malting of barley was the function of the complex but in 1965, after 120 years, the malting of barley ceased, the direct result of inefficiencies of a large complex. The site was then purchased by Suffolk farmer George Gooderham.

Meanwhile the composer Benjamin Britten had founded the Aldeburgh Festival of Music and the Arts, five miles from Snape, (in 1948) and the festival quickly established an international reputation, outgrowing its small venues in Aldeburgh and other locations around the Suffolk coast. In the course of the 1950s and 60s Britten explored ways to build a larger venue to host the festival, and in 1965 he leased the largest building at Snape Maltings from George Gooderham to convert into the 810-seat Snape Maltings Concert Hall, which was opened by HM Queen Elizabeth in 1967. This became the home of the Aldeburgh Festival and a venue internationally renowned for the superb quality of its acoustic. It was one of the earliest examples of an industrial building being repurposed for arts use. The Hall suffered serious fire damage two years later, re-opening in time for the Aldeburgh Festival in 1970.

Visual art has been an important part of the Aldeburgh Festival since its inception. It was Britten's` belief that it should feature alongside the music, hence the full title Aldeburgh Festival of Music and the Arts. From the stage sets, to works shown in spaces in and around Snape Maltings, art has been married to the musical experience. This a view, through one piece of art, toward the Maltings, with another piece of art just in front of the building.

Another view showing the piece of art I used to get the image before. The Family of Man is an unfinished sculpture by Barbara Hepworth, which was created in the early 70s and unfinished at the time of the artist’s death. The complete sculpture is actually made up of 9 individual pieces. Two sets of the sculpture were cast; a complete set can be seen in the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, the remaining set being broken up into smaller groups. One of these smaller groupings is in Wakefield, the other is here at Snape Maltings on permanent loan from the Fitzwilliam Museum.

To Give Light. This work by conceptual artist Ryan Gander was made for the Great Exhibition of the North (2018) to celebrate the history of Northern innovation. It consists of 10 black sculptures made from a special glow-in-the-dark concrete material, each describing an object originally designed to emit or shine light. Each element is complete with a section of shiny mooring chain reminiscent of buoys or anchors, referencing the maritime history of the River Tyne and resonating with the Suffolk coast.

Together the sculptures appear like a series of gigantic board game pieces or trinkets from a charm bracelet, outsized as if belonging to the child of a giant.

Henry Moore: Reclining Figure (Bunched) 1961/69

A view across the river toward the Maltings as the tide had just begun to return.

Boats moored just below the bridge.

Lone tree against a blue sky, seen on our walk across the fields.

In an idyllic setting, the church of St Botolph in Iken. `Built on a bluff above the River Alde where Saxon St Botolph came ashore and established his monastery in 654 AD, this church has one of the most beautiful locations in Suffolk` - the blurb reads, and they are probable right!

The monastery built by Botolph was destroyed by Viking raiders in the winter of AD 869-70 two centuries after his death but the foundations of a mid-Saxon timber-framed building have been found, thought to be Botolph’s original church just south of where his monastery stood. So origins go back more than 1300 years. They don’t come much older.

The church you see today is Norman with 15th century porch and tower and Victorian chancel. But it had to be repaired after the devastating fire of 1968 when a spark set the thatched roof alight.

The altar. I guess this is quite modern.

The great font, one of the best in the East Anglian style. The angels that alternate with the evangelistic symbols carry the instruments of the Passion. Today it was all decorated ready for a wedding.

Part of a stone cross that’s been dated back to the late 9th or early 10th century. Discovered in 1977, it’s thought this could be the lower part of a large decorated stone cross, a marker for Botolph’s original church or the only surviving relic of a later Saxon church.

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