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community there. One story is that the agricultural land surrounding the new priory was insufficiently fertile, forcing the monks to consider returning to the mother house in 1141. However, Adelicia de
Brioniis, the sister of Richard and successor to his estate, offered them an alternative site close
365:. During the 19th century the house had a succession of owners, some of whom neglected the house while others attempted to renovate it. In 1905, the cousin of the last owner inherited the house and moved in with her husband Freeman Roper, whose descendants still own and occupy the house and estates.
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In the second largest pond, the
Mermaid pond, the Roper family installed the Centenary Fountain in 2005 to commemorate the centenary of their ownership of Forde Abbey. At 160 feet (49 m) in height, it is claimed to be the highest powered fountain in England. Closer to the house surrounding the
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Much of the original monastery, including the abbey church was demolished in the period after the dissolution; only two statues, now on display in the Great Hall, have been found from the original church. The monastic parts of the current house are the Great Hall, the north side of the original
382:, which has been converted into a chapel. Other rooms have been subsequently converted into State Rooms and show no evidence of their earlier use. Prideaux added some bedrooms and a reception area in the front of the building as part of his conversion of the abbey to a private house.
318:. Sir Amias and his father before him had acted as Steward of the Abbey and its property while it was a monastery. In 1580–81, Sir Amias Poulet was licensed to alienate lands belonging to that abbey to William Rosewell, the 20-year-old son of
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358:. He made a fortune practising law and running the Parliamentary postal service. Having purchased the property he converted the buildings into his private home, with several classicising features, including the small loggia.
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as a "historically important garden". The Roper family has maintained and improved the gardens during their tenure. The gardens cover 30 acres (120,000 m) including several water features, planted gardens and an
326:. Forde Abbey probably changed hands about the same time. William Rosewell of Forde died in 1593 and Forde Abbey was left to his wife Anne. Their son Henry probably took ownership on maturity in 1611. Henry became Sir
270:, receiving remuneration from the king. The foundation grew and became very wealthy, eventually possessing lands over 30,000 acres (120 km) by the 14th century. Sometime in the 13th Century, the body of
427:, feeds a series of cascades down the hill to three smaller ponds which were a part of the gardens laid down in the 18th century. On the edge of the Great Pond is the Beech House, a structure formed from
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Behind the house, there is a
Victorian walled kitchen garden which originally supplied the house with food but is now mostly used as a nursery to provide plants for sale to the visitors.
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248:. Here, between 1141 and 1148, they built a new priory which came to be known as "Ford" due to its proximity to an old river crossing. The monastery was dedicated to the
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The house remained largely unchanged during the 18th century, though the gardens were created during this period. In 1815, the house was rented to the philosopher
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hedges which was created in the 1930s to provide a bird watching hide overlooking the pond. There is also a Bog Garden by the pond.
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412:. The lawns were laid out in front of the house in the 18th century and many of the trees were planted in the 19th century.
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as well as the monks' accommodation, the Upper
Refectory and the Undercroft, which was the abbey's working area, and the
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from 1514 to 1526 Richard
Pollard was later knighted and his son sold Forde Abbey to his relative, Sir Amias Poulet of
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Long pond, there is extensive planting of flowering plants which provide a colourful sight in the summer months.
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of Forde in 1619. Forde Abbey was held for nearly seventy years by the
Rosewells until it was sold in 1649 to
294:, surrendered the abbey to the Crown peacefully in 1539. The abbey buildings and lands were leased in 1540 to
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while the 1,600-acre (650 ha) estate is farmed to provide additional revenue. Forde Abbey is a Grade I
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258:(c. 1140 – 21 April 1214) was the prior of Forde Abbey, then from 1186 abbot of its daughter house of
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The gardens of Forde Abbey are one of the main attractions. They are listed as Grade II* in the
574:(1983:27f) suggested that the surveyor in charge of the designs was Edward Carter (died 1663),
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Between 1133 and 1136, wealthy nobleman
Richard de Brioniis built a priory on his land at
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was buried in the western transept of the abbey's church, after an attempt by
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227:(meaning "bright" or "clear" pasture) and invited Gilbert, Abbot of
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The Story of Ford Abbey: from the earliest times to the present day
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Frances B. James (1888), 'Sir Henry
Rosewell: a Devon worthy',
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Josiah Cox
Russell, "Social Status at the Court of King John,"
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A Biographical
Dictionary of British Architects, 1600-1840
346:, London. He supported the Parliamentary cause during the
290:. Abbot Chard, the last abbot of Forde at the time of the
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The Great Pond, which was originally the head pond for a
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to steal the body of the saint. The third abbot, Abbot
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Christian monasteries established in the 12th century
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Monasteries dissolved under the English Reformation
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715:Religious organizations established in the 1140s
641:C. Sherwin (1927), 'The History of Ford Abbey',
219:Plan of the Abbey and its surroundings (1911)
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750:Grade II* listed parks and gardens in Dorset
578:' chief deputy in the extensive repairs to
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740:12th-century establishments in England
461:Edward de Courtenay, 3rd Earl of Devon
643:Transactions of the Devonshire Assoc.
199:. The house and gardens are run as a
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720:Grade I listed buildings in Dorset
673:Its entry at parksandgardens.ac.uk
606:National Heritage List for England
556:Forde Abbey website - History page
495:National Heritage List for England
405:National Heritage List for England
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620:Forde Abbey website - Garden page
235:, to send 12 monks to form a new
730:Historic house museums in Dorset
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668:Forde Abbey House & Gardens
298:(1505-1542), second son of Sir
132:Forde Abbey House & Gardens
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292:dissolution of the monasteries
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610:, retrieved 22 September 2016
419:Beech House by the Great Pond
29:Building in Somerset, England
735:Religious museums in England
657:(London: F. Griffiths, 1911)
543:Hoskins, W.G., Devon, p. 337
450:Other burials at Forde Abbey
180:is a privately owned former
308:Justice of the Common Pleas
195:, with a postal address in
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685:Thorncombe village website
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700:Country houses in Dorset
678:26 February 2012 at the
636:Trans. Devonshire Assoc.
288:Archbishop of Canterbury
272:St. Wulfric of Haselbury
515:Heath, 1911, pp. 25-27.
490:"Forde Abbey (1153362)"
568:Archaeological Journal
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745:Grade I listed houses
710:Monasteries in Dorset
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342:and Treasurer of the
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398:Forde Abbey panorama
336:Member of Parliament
102:50.84083°N 2.91000°W
580:St Paul's Cathedral
466:Hugh Courtenay (KG)
456:Renaud de Courtenay
98: /
56:General information
594:"Carter, Edward").
566:J.J. West, in the
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438:Centenary Fountain
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201:tourist attraction
160:Reference no.
107:50.84083; -2.91000
705:Gardens in Dorset
604:Historic England
369:House and gardens
348:English Civil War
324:Solicitor-General
302:(c.1465-1526) of
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280:Montacute Priory
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197:Chard, Somerset
155:4 December 1951
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499:. Retrieved
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350:and was the
344:Inner Temple
256:John of Ford
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121:12th century
61:Town or city
26:
576:Inigo Jones
356:Interregnum
278:monks from
276:Benedictine
266:during the
250:Virgin Mary
178:Forde Abbey
105: /
80:Coordinates
46:Forde Abbey
35:Forde Abbey
694:Categories
582:(noted in
472:References
340:Lyme Regis
246:Thorncombe
237:Cistercian
182:Cistercian
152:Designated
90:50°50′27″N
18:Ford Abbey
425:watermill
410:arboretum
376:cloisters
306:, Devon,
286:, became
264:King John
242:River Axe
225:Brightley
185:monastery
146:– Grade I
118:Completed
93:2°54′36″W
676:Archived
527:Speculum
316:Somerset
229:Waverley
501:22 June
284:Baldwin
240:to the
211:History
193:England
163:1153362
126:Website
74:England
71:Country
260:Bindon
233:Surrey
189:Dorset
429:beech
592:s.v.
503:2020
338:for
572:140
231:in
187:in
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20:)
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