Earlier this year, well before spring set in, we decided to check out
Newstead Abbey Park & Gardens. The place was practically a stone's throw from where we lived and we hadn't gone to visit yet.
The first thing to note about Newstead is the fact that, according to sources, the park is not a proper abbey but is instead a priory. An
abbey historically was a Catholic residence for either monks or nuns. A
priory was a monastery or nunnery that was governed by a prior or prioress.
Newstead was founded around 1170 by King Henry II. In the 13th century and again in the 15th century the priory was rebuilt and extended.
Many years later, Sir John Byron of Colwick was granted Newstead Abbey by King Henry the VIII. Byron then converted the priory in to a country estate. The property remained in the Byron family for centuries, some owners building it up and out, creating lavish gardens, and some left it to ruin, allowing the property to decay.
"The 5th baron, known as "the Wicked Lord", was eccentric and violent and ruined the estate. Lord Byron's son and heir (also named William) eloped with his cousin Juliana Byron, the daughter of William's brother John Byron. Lord Byron felt that intermarrying would produce children plagued with madness and strongly opposed the union. He also needed his son to marry well to escape the debt that had been incurred in the Byron name. When defied by his son, he became enraged and committed himself to ruining his inheritance so that, in the event of his death, his son would receive nothing but debt and worthless property. He laid waste to Newstead Abbey, allowing the house to fall into disrepair, cutting down the great stands of timber surrounding it, and killing over 2,000 deer on the estate."
Newstead is now publicly owned by Nottingham City Council and houses a museum containing Byron memorabilia.
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| The entrance to Newstead Abbey. |
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| Pedestrian walkway beside the main road. |
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| The long, long drive to the abbey. According to Google, the entire drive is 1.2 miles long. We had to walk both to and from in the rain. At least it wasn't uphill both ways in the snow. |
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| Going towards the abbey we hiked the side trail that ran parallel to the main road. |
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| We found these piles of stones all along the path. I was wary about disturbing them because I didn't want to incur the wrath of a British Blair Witch. |
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| Arriving at the abbey/priory. |
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| Can't you imagine a scene from Downton right here? |
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| These peacocks live on the property and apparently are fed scraps from the cafe. |
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| We weren't able to visit all the gardens simply because there were far too many of them and the park closed at sunset. |
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| This coot is actually walking on a thin layer of ice. The ice stretched clear across the lake towards the abbey. |
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| This fine young gentleman is completely made of chicken wire. |
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| One of the pagoda-style statues we came across whilst in the Japanese garden. |
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| Mr. Chicken Wire and his silent companion. |
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| The last English garden we came across before we had to head back for the evening. |
We'll definitely be heading back to the abbey again in the future. Had they had a shuttle from the gate to the gardens it would have made it a more pleasurable experience. While I have no aversion to walking almost 2.5 miles to and from the gardens, since my back injury in November, walking non-stop can get rather uncomfortable after a time. One of the first things I plan on doing once I get a car is coming back to the abbey, hopefully when the flowers and trees are in full bloom.
The next big trip won't be until after my 30th in June so in the meantime I might make a couple of filler posts. Sorry, can't say where we're heading to but it'll be a blast guaranteed! Until next time my friends!
