Wroxall Abbey is a substantial Victorian

mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word ''manse'' originally defined a property l ...

house situated at Wroxall, Warwickshire which was converted for use as a hotel, spa, wedding venue and conference centre. It is a

Grade II listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

History

Built in 1141 by Sir Hugh de Hatton, the estate was occupied for some 400 years by Wroxall Priory, a Benedictine monastery of

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service and contemplation, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 5 ...

s, until the Dissolution of the Monasteries by

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

in 1536. In 1544 the King granted the estate to Robert Burgoyne of

Sutton, Bedfordshire Sutton is a rural village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England. It lies east of Bedford. At the United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 Census, its population was 299. Main features ...

(d 1545) who had been one of the King's Commissioners for the Dissolution. His son Robert (d 1613), High Sheriff of Warwickshire in 1597, built a

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...

Elizabethan The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The Roman symbol of Britannia (a female per ...

style adjacent to the priory ruins. The Burgoyne family (later Burgoyne baronets) occupied the manor until 1713 when they sold it together with , to

Sir Christopher Wren Sir Christopher Wren FRS (; – ) was an English architect, astronomer, mathematician and physicist who was one of the most highly acclaimed architects in the history of England. Known for his work in the English Baroque style, he was acc ...

. Wren used the house as his country retreat, and it was occupied from time to time by members of his family, including his great-great-grandson Christopher Roberts Wren, High Sheriff of Warwickshire in 1820. Later descendants sold the estate in 1861 to James Dugdale, High Sheriff of Warwickshire 1868, who demolished the old manor house and replaced it with an imposing mansion, thereafter to be known as Wroxall Abbey, in the

Victorian Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

style. The Lady Chapel adjacent to the Hall, now a church dedicated to St Leonard, and popularly known as Wren's Cathedral, is a

Grade I listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

. It is a cathedral of the

Free Methodist Church The Free Methodist Church (FMC) is a Methodist Christian denomination within the holiness movement, based in the United States. It is Evangelicalism, evangelical in nature and is Wesleyan theology, Wesleyan–Arminian in theology. The Free Met ...

and is used for regular services and weddings. The nearby ruins of the 12th century abbey are

Grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

. The house was let and was occupied as a girls' school from 1936 to 1995. In 1995 the estate was purchased by the Quinn family, who leased it to a commercial company in 2001. The lessees converted the estate into a hotel. Image:Mansion Blue Sky Rear.jpg, Mansion rear Image:Mansion front.jpg, Wroxall Abbey Entrance Image:St Leonard's Church, Wroxall Abbey, Warwickshire, England.jpg, Wren's Cathedral Image:Wren's Cathedral 2.jpg, Wren's Cathedral Image:Wroxall Abbey Hotel (4) - geograph.org.uk - 5839190.jpg, Stairs and stained glass

References

''A History of the County of Warwick, Volume 3'' (1945) pp215-220 Wroxall from British History Online
* - 1990 description

External links

Wroxall Abbey Estate website

Photos of Wroxall Abbey and surrounding area on geograph.org
{{coord, 52.3340, -1.6764, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Country houses in Warwickshire History of Warwickshire Grade II listed buildings in Warwickshire Grade II listed houses Buildings and structures completed in 1141 Houses completed in the 12th century