Woburn Abbey

Woburn Abbey in Bedfordshire, England, is a grand estate complete with deer park, golf club and safari park, not to mention one of Britain’s most treasured heritage homes. Woburn Abbey makes for a classically English yet also unusual stop on your Great British Heritage Pass tour of the UK.

Woburn Abbey has been the home to the Dukes of Bedford for over 350 years and is set in a beautiful 3000 acre deer park, which contains 10 different species of deer. One of the species is the Pere David, which was originally from China and then became extinct in their homeland in the early 1900s.

However, 22 of them were re-introduced to the Chinese Government by Lord Tavistock in 1985, adapting successfully and becoming the first ever successful reintroduction of an indigenous species, where it had become extinct in the wild.  There are now 360 of them south of Beijing. 

You can enjoy the Woburn Deer Park either before or after your visit to the Abbey, which dates back to 1145.  It was originally a religious house for a group of Cistercian monks.  The north wing of Woburn Abbey is on the site of the monastic church and the present courtyard is on the site of the great cloister and garth. 

In the Dining Room at Woburn Abbey you can view the collection of Venetian views by Canaletto, originally commissioned by the 4th Duke on his visit to Venice in 1731.  Woburn has one of the finest private collections in England, featuring masterworks by Van Dyck, Gainsborough, Reynolds, and Velasquez. 

The State Dining Room displays how food used to be kept warm, as the dining rooms were kept far from the kitchens in order to avoid the smell pervading the rooms.  Covers and stands with burners underneath were used, as well as dishes with an inner and outer lining filled with hot water.  It was also here that ladies would leave the room after a dinner, leaving the men to enjoy their port and cigars. 

Queen Victoria’s Bedroom at Woburn Abbey is where Queen Victoria and Prince Albert stayed during their visit to Woburn in 1841. Many of the rooms were kept for visiting royalty, and used for no other purpose.  They would seal the rooms and cover the furniture if no one was staying in them.

Be sure to see the etchings drawn by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, left at Woburn Abbey as gifts to Anna Maria, the 7th Duchess.  She was one of the Queen’s ladies-in-waiting.

There is also a display case with a letter from the 9 year old Princess Victoria to Elizabeth Sackville-West, who later became wife of the 9th Duke, and two brooches presented to her by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert when she was a bridesmaid at their wedding in 1840. 

In the Silver and Gold Vaults at Woburn Abbey, you can admire some of the family silver and gold, which is still in use by the family today, including the 12 individual silver gilt teapots displayed in the gold vaults.

Once you’ve finished enjoying the Abbey and Deer Park, you can enjoy the Woburn Safari Park, Golf Club, or Antiques Centre!  The Safari Park promises a fun day out for the whole family, its golf course is ranked in the top 100 courses in the British Isles, and the Antiques Centre offers one of the largest selections of antiques outside of London.

Whatever your reason for visiting, you’ll be sure to enjoy Woburn Abbey, one of the great icons of British heritage!

Planning your visit to Woburn Abbey

Woburn Abbey is open to visitors from March to October each year – please check with the Abbey for exact dates.