Sites maintained by English Heritage in Cambridgeshire

Denny Abbey and Farmland Museum

Denny Abbey is just off the A10, about halfway between Cambridge and Ely.

The building was originally a Benedictine monastery, founded in 1159. By the time of the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 1530s it was a nunnery run by the “Poor Clares”. After the Dissolution the buildings became a farm, and they stayed that way until the 1960s. 

A notable tenant of the farm was Thomas Hobson (1544-1631) who was a carrier who kept a large stable of horses. When these were not needed for his business they were rented out to Cambridge students who always had to take the horse that was offered to them and not their personal preference. This is the origin of the expression “Hobson’s Choice”.

Visitors can trace the history of Denny Abbey from nunnery to farm – some of the nuns’ original floor tiles survived from when their refectory became a barn.

Some of the farm buildings house the Farmland Museum which displays items relating to the history of farming in the region. These include recreations of craftsmen’s workshops, a fenman’s hut from the 19^th century and a village shop from the 1930s.

Duxford Chapel

This is in the village of Whittlesford (near Duxford) in the far south of Cambridgeshire. 

It is a complete and well-preserved 14^th century chantry chapel that was originally part of the Hospital of St John but is the only building that remains from that time.

 

A chantry chapel was dedicated for the purpose of holding masses for the soul of a named person, normally someone of wealth who had stipulated in his or her will that this be done.  The practice was suppressed in 1545 during the reign of King Edward VI, and Duxford Chapel became a barn that was used by the owners of the Red Lion inn next door (which also survives).

Isleham Priory Church

Isleham is a small village to the southeast of Ely, close to the border with Suffolk. It is a remarkable survival from the past, being an almost perfectly preserved example of a Norman Benedictine priory church.

The priory was founded in 1090 but dissolved in 1414 – long before the Dissolution of the Monasteries under King Henry VIII. The church owes its preservation to having been used as a barn for much of its subsequent existence.

Longthorpe Tower

Longthorpe is a suburb of Peterborough, a cathedral city in north Cambridgeshire. 

Longthorpe Tower was built in about 1300 as part of a fortified manor house, which has since disappeared. The tower, which is three storeys high, is not only an unusual structure to find in the heart of a city suburb, surrounded by modern housing estates, but it contains an important and very rare set of domestic wall paintings that date from the 14^th century.

The paintings had been covered by whitewash at some point in the 16^th century and only rediscovered in 1945. They adorn the walls and vault of the Great Chamber at the top of the tower.

The paintings have been described as a “spiritual encyclopedia”, although the subject matter is both religious and secular. Along with scenes of everyday life and representations of locally found birds there are depictions of the “Seven Ages of Man”, the “Labours of the Months” and “Wheel of the Senses”.

© John Welford

Sites maintained by English Heritage in Bedfordshire

The English County of Bedfordshire contains four properties that are maintained by English Heritage and made accessible to visitors

Bushmead Priory

Bushmead Priory is in the far north of the county, close to the border with Cambridgeshire.

This was a small priory, founded in 1195 as a community of Augustinian “black canons”. It was never home to more than four canons plus the prior.

All that can be seen here today is the Refectory – the only building still standing - but this has been well preserved. It is notable for its original timber roof and 14^th century wall paintings, one of which shows the Creation of Eve.

De Grey Mausoleum, Flitton

The village of Flitton is between Silsoe and the small town of Flitwick. The Mausoleum is attached to the parish church and can only be accessed via the church.

This is a large sepulchral chapel that contains 17 monuments to members of the de Grey family of Wrest Park, these dating from between 1614 and 1859.

Houghton House

This is the unroofed shell of a country mansion built in the early 17^th century for Mary Sidney Herbert, Dowager Countess of Pembroke. It is near the small town of Ampthill, a few miles south of Bedford.

Houghton House may well have been the inspiration for John Bunyan’s “Palace Beautiful” in “The Pilgrim’s Progress” – Bunyan was a native of Bedford.

Houghton House is of interest for its architectural style, combining as it does features of the Jacobean and Classical styles, given that the Classical Revival was in its early stages at the time of its construction.

There are two Italian-style loggias (covered walkways) that could have been designed by Inigo Jones.

Wrest Park

Wrest Park (pictured above) is near the village of Silsoe, about half way between Bedford and Luton. It was the estate of the Robinson family who were also Barons Grantham. Wrest House was completed in 1839 to designs by Thomas de Grey, 3^rd Baron Grantham.

The house resembles a French chateau-style mansion, although visitors are restricted to seeing only a few of the ground floor state rooms.

The main interest at Wrest Park is the expanse of gardens, designed by Capability Brown and covering some 90 acres, that surround the house. These are what most visitors come to see.

English Heritage is overseeing a 20-year restoration project at Wrest Park, so return visitors will be rewarded by seeing more features of the 18^th century gardens (which pre-date the current house) that have been brought back to life.

The park is notable for the many “follies”, statues and other constructions that adorn it, such as the Archer Pavilion – designed in the early 18^th century by Thomas Archer. This domed building stands at one end of the Long Water, in which it is reflected on fine days.

The Bath House, dating from 1770, was designed as a “classical ruin” with a thatched roof. The area around this has recently been restored.

There is a Chinese bridge and temple with a copper roof.

There are many individual garden areas including a rose garden, an Italian garden and a French parterre.

Many woodland and waterside walks can be taken. These lead to features that include an orangery, built in the 1830s, a dogs’ cemetery and a sculpture gallery in the former dairy.

Also of interest at Wrest Park is the Archaeological Store that houses more than 150,000 items that have been gathered from English Heritage sites around the country. These range in date from prehistoric times to the Victorian era. Some 6,000 items have come from historic houses in London and include around 1,000 wallpaper samples.

© John Welford