Stoneleigh Abbey

at Estate Office, Stoneleigh Abbey, Kenilworth , CV8 2LF United Kingdom

1. Monument

Description

Stoneleigh Abbey is a large country estate situated to the southwest of Coventry. Nearby is the village of Stoneleigh, Warwickshire, England. Stoneleigh Abbey is a historical estate with Grade I listed building.HistoryIn 1154 Henry II granted land in the Forest of Arden to a group of Cistercians from Staffordshire. There are various traces remaining of the original Abbey buildings, most notably the 14th-century Gatehouse.After the Dissolution of the Monasteries the estate was acquired by Sir Thomas Leigh, Lord Mayor of London in 1558. Charles I gave Leigh the barony for his offering hospitality when the gates of Coventry were closed for Charles during the English Civil War. A house was built (which now forms the north and east wings of the present house) on the site of the monastic buildings. It was the home of the Leigh family from 1561 to 1990. In due course the Leigh family became the largest land owner in Warwickshire.Between 1714 and 1726 a new palatial four-storey fifteen-bay wing was built to designs by architect Francis Smith of Warwick. The result was an impressive baroque West Wing, built from silver-coloured stone which was quite fashionable at that time. The Abbey's remarkable feature is the Saloon, one of the great interiors of Georgian England. Andor Gomme referred to it as "almost the swan song of baroque figurative plasterwork in England".

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Summary

Stoneleigh Abbey is Coventry based place and this enity listed in Monument category. Located at Estate Office, Stoneleigh Abbey CV8 2LF. Contact phone number of Stoneleigh Abbey: 01926 858535