Abbey House is an early 19th-century ruined
stately home
An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...
in
Ranton,
Staffordshire
Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
.
History
The red-brick
Regency
A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
house was built in 1820 by
Thomas Anson the 1st
Earl of Lichfield
Earl of Lichfield is a title that has been created three times, twice in the Peerage of England (1645 and 1674) and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom (1831). The third creation is extant and is held by a member of the Anson family.
Hi ...
as a second seat for his family based at
Shugborough Hall
Shugborough Hall is a stately home near Great Haywood, Staffordshire, England.
The hall is situated on the edge of Cannock Chase, about east of Stafford and from Rugeley. The estate was owned by the Bishops of Lichfield until the dissolutio ...
. The 300-acre estate is also the site of
Ranton Abbey
Ranton Abbey or Ranton Priory was an Augustinian Priory in Ranton, Staffordshire, England, built c.1150 by Robert fitz Noel of Ellenhall. The priory flourished in the 13th century as a subordinate house to Haughmond Abbey (near Shrewsbury). Rant ...
, one of many
Augustinian Augustinian may refer to:
*Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine
*Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs
*Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo
* Canons Regular of Sain ...
abbeys founded across England from the 1140s to the 1160s. Today, only the imposing 15th-century church tower survives.
The Ranton Estate was purchased by
Viscount Anson
A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status.
In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...
, who was created the First Earl of Lichfield in the coronation honours of
King William IV
William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded h ...
in 1831. He spent large sums of money improving the estate and the house, which was used as a centre for sporting hospitality hosting great shooting parties, for distinguished guests, including
Sir Francis Grant (who was to become president of the
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...
);
Lord Melbourne
William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, (15 March 177924 November 1848), in some sources called Henry William Lamb, was a British Whig politician who served as Home Secretary (1830–1834) and Prime Minister (1834 and 1835–1841). His first pre ...
, then prime minister;
Lord Sefton and the
Earl of Uxbridge
Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particular ...
. The house has been a mere shell since being gutted by fire in 1942, when the bodyguard of
Queen Wilhelmina
Wilhelmina (; Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Maria; 31 August 1880 – 28 November 1962) was Queen of the Netherlands
The monarchy of the Netherlands is a constitutional monarchy. As such, the role and position of the monarch are governed by the ...
of the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
were stationed there.
The estate was sold to the
Wedgwood
Wedgwood is an English fine china, porcelain and luxury accessories manufacturer that was founded on 1 May 1759 by the potter and entrepreneur Josiah Wedgwood and was first incorporated in 1895 as Josiah Wedgwood and Sons Ltd. It was rapid ...
porcelain company in the 1950s but bought back by
Patrick Lichfield
Thomas Patrick John Anson, 5th Earl of Lichfield (25 April 1939 – 11 November 2005) was an English photographer from the Anson family. He inherited the Earldom of Lichfield in 1960 from his paternal grandfather. In his professional practice ...
, the 5th Earl, in 1987 with a view to restoring the house or building a replacement. Realisation of these plans was delayed for many years due to objections from
English Heritage
English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses.
The charity states that i ...
. Permission was finally granted in December 2005, only a month after Lichfield died. The estate was sold in 2008, and again in July 2011 for around £3.5 million.
''Ranton Abbey to be resurrected – or replaced?'' The Country Seat, January 17, 2010
/ref>
References
{{reflist
External links
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110524160119/http://www.search.staffspasttrack.org.uk/engine/resource/default.asp?txtKeywords=ranton+abbey&lstContext=&lstResourceType=&lstExhibitionType=&chkPurchaseVisible=&txtDateFrom=&txtDateTo=&originator=%2Fengine%2Fsearch%2Fdefault_hndlr.asp&page=&records=&direction=&pointer=1068&text=0&resource=1640 Photograph of Abbey House from the south, c.1912, in its heyday, with Abbey visible to left]
''The shooting party, at Ranton Abbey,'' c.1840, A coloured engraving by W.H. Simmons after an oil painting of 1840 by Sir Francis Grant
Country houses in Staffordshire
Houses completed in 1820