Wykeham Abbey is a

Grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

country house 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 Wykeham,

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...

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 ...

. It has been the seat of the Viscounts Downe since the early 20th century.

History

Wykeham Abbey was built on the side of the former Wykeham Priory, a

Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...

nunnery established between 1140-1160. Pain de Wykeham granted his house to the priory and his son Theobald gifted the nuns 48 acres of land. King Henry III granted them an additional 103 acres. The nunnery was destroyed by fire during the reign of

Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring r ...

(between 1312 and 1377) and rebuilt. It was dissolved in 1539 and the lands granted to Francis Poole in 1544. The only relic of the nunnery is the north wall of the priory church, which dates from the end of the 12th century. The present house was built in the mid-18th century for Richard Hutchinson, who assumed the surname Langley after he became heir to his uncle Thomas Langley. His grandson, also Richard Langley, died childless in 1817, and bequeathed his estates to his cousin Marmaduke Dawnay, the younger son of

John Dawnay, 4th Viscount Downe John Dawnay, 4th Viscount Downe (9 April 1728 – 21 December 1780), was a British peer and Whig politician. Background Dawnay was the younger son of the Honourable John Dawnay, eldest son of Henry Dawnay, 2nd Viscount Downe. His mother was C ...

. In 1824, Marmaduke also assumed the surname Langley. He died in 1851, unmarried, and Wykeham Abbey has remained in the Dawnay family since. The house was considerably expanded in the 19th century; 1835 is the year marked on a datestone and the

loggia In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior gallery or corridor, usually on an upper level, but sometimes on the ground level of a building. The outer wall is open to the elements, usually supported by a series of columns ...

was added in 1839. There were further additions in 1904 enlarging the house. Wykeham Abbey has been the seat of the Viscounts Downe since 1909, and the surrounding estate spreads across 2,500 acres. Like many country houses in England, Wykeham Abbey served as a Red Cross recovery hospital in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. From 1914 to 1919, more than 1,520 non-commissioned officers and soldiers from across the British Isles passed through the doors.

Listed buildings

The main house is Grade II* listed. Several other buildings surrounding the main house are Grade II listed: *Outbuildings and stables, designed in 1854 by

William Butterfield William Butterfield (7 September 1814 – 23 February 1900) was a Gothic Revival architect and associated with the Oxford Movement (or Tractarian Movement). He is noted for his use of polychromy. Biography William Butterfield was born in Lon ...

*Gates, railings and gate piers, dated early 19th century *Medieval churchyard cross, approximately 35 metres east of the main house *12th-century priory remains consisting of a section of north wall, approximately 50 metres long, 10 metres east of the main house

References

{{Reflist, 2

External links

Dawnay Estates website
Grade II* listed buildings in North Yorkshire Country houses in North Yorkshire English Heritage sites in North Yorkshire Houses completed in the 18th century Georgian architecture in England