Rufford Abbey
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Rufford Abbey | ||
| House & estate | ||
 Rufford Abbey
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| Country | England | |
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| State | Nottinghamshire | |
| Region | East Midlands | |
| District | Newark and Sherwood | |
| Municipality | Ollerton | |
| Location | 2 miles South of Ollerton off A614 | |
| Founded | 1147 as a Cistercian Monastery | |
| Owner | English Heritage | |
| Website: http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/nav.11940 | ||
Rufford Abbey is an estate in Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire, England.
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[edit] The Monastic Foundation
The abbey itself was founded by Gilbert de Gant in, or around, 1147 and populated with Cistercian monks from Rievaulx Abbey in Yorkshire.
The English Pope, Adrian IV gave the blessing for the abbey in 1156 and following this the abbey' lands expanded and the villagers of Cratley, Rufford, Grimston and Inkersall were evicted. A new village of Wellow, just outside the estate housed some of the displaced people.[1]
The Valor Ecclesiasticus of 1534 gives the gross income of the abbey as £254 6s. 8d. and the clear annual value as £176 11s. 6d.
Abbot Doncaster obtained a pension on the dissolution of the house in 1536 among the lesser monasteries, of £25 a year; but it was voided on his speedy appointment to the rectory of Rotherham on 2 July 1536.
[edit] Abbots of Rufford
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[edit] Later owners
The estate was later granted to the Talbot family, and its residents included George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury. In 1626, the house was sold to Sir George Savile, and later inhabited by his descendant, the Marquess of Halifax.
The Savile family sold the estate during the Great Depression, and it was later acquired by English Heritage. The late 17th century North Wing was demolished in the 1950s.
[edit] Georgian and Victorian Features
Between 1729 and c.1845 many improvements were made to the Rufford estate. For example; the addition of the bath house, the creation of the lake and mill buildings, the construction of the brewhouse, water tower and coach house and also the addition of five icehouses.
[edit] Ice Houses
Rufford Abbey once gave home to five ice houses, however, only two still remain today. All were constructed c1820, when the estate was owned by John Lumley-Savile, 8th Earl of Scarbrough (1788 – 1856). The five ice houses are located near Rufford lake, created c1750; this means that the ice houses were built in close to the lake purposely, for the simple reason that the movement of ice from its source was easier.
Not all of Rufford’s Ice Houses faced north, as accessibility and the logistics of the ice may have meant that the builders found it easier to place the doorways facing the lake rather than northerly. See Icehouse (building). It is believed that ice was mainly taken from Blackwalk Pond, which was drained to make way for housing in the 20th century (Blackwalk Pond was used to serve the abbey in Rufford's monastic era, later it fed Rufford's water tower and brew house, still on the site today).
TV Series
One thing that many people may know of was its setting for the children's book and later TV series called 'Polly Flint' in the mid 80's. The small close-by village of Wellow was also used.
