Rufford Abbey
Rufford Abbey
Main page
1842356

Rufford Abbey

logo
Community Hub0 subscribers
What are your thoughts?
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Rufford Abbey

Rufford Abbey is a country estate in Rufford, Nottinghamshire, England, two miles (4 km) south of Ollerton. Originally a Cistercian abbey, it was converted to a country house in the 16th century after Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries. Part of the house was demolished in the 20th century, but the remains, standing in 150 acres of park and woodland, are open to the public as Rufford Country Park. Part of the park is a local nature reserve. The remains of the house is owned by English Heritage and the country park is owned by Nottinghamshire County Council and managed by Parkwood Leisure.

The house itself is constructed of rubble, brick, dressed stone and ashlar with ashlar dressings and plain tile roofs.

The park is open to visitors and has several cafés, gift and garden shops. It also has a range of activities.

The abbey itself was founded by Gilbert de Gant, on 12 July 1147, and populated with Cistercian monks from Rievaulx Abbey in Yorkshire.

The English Pope, Adrian IV gave the blessing for the abbey in 1156, following which the abbey's lands expanded and the villagers of Cratley, Grimston, Rufford, and Inkersall were evicted. A new village of Wellow, just outside the estate housed some of the displaced people.

The Valor Ecclesiasticus of 1534 gives the gross income of the abbey as £254 6s. 8d. (equivalent to £220,000 in 2023), and the clear annual value as £176 11s. 6d. (equivalent to £150,000 in 2023).

Abbot Doncaster obtained a pension of £25 a year, on the dissolution of the house in 1536 among the lesser monasteries, but it was voided on his speedy appointment to the rectory of Rotherham on 2 July 1536.

After its dissolution, the abbey gained a reputation of being haunted by the spectre of a giant monk carrying a skull.

See all
User Avatar
No comments yet.