Buckland Abbey

Buckland Abbey was home to Francis Drake, privateer, explorer and officer during the naval battle in 1588

Buckland was originally a Cistercian abbey founded in 1278. It remained an abbey until 1541 when king Henry VIII sold Buckland to Sir Richard Grenville who, working with his son Roger, began to convert the abbey into a residence. Roger died in 1545, leaving a son, also named Richard Grenville, who eventually sold Buckland to Drake in 1580. The abbey is unusual in that the church was retained as the principal component of the new house whilst most of the remainder was demolished, which was a reversal of the normal outcome with this type of redevelopment.

Drake lived in the house for 15 years, as did his descendants until 1946, when it was sold to a local landowner, who presented the property to the National Trust in 1948. Its period rooms and lively exhibitions now tell the stories of its chequered past, from the Abbey via the Armada to the extensive agricultural estate. The converted house has fine Tudor and modern plasterwork in the Great Hall and gives a good feeling for the lives and times of one of the important actors in the Anglo-Spanish war. The house also presents and exhibition in the Drake Gallery, where the exhibits include colourful naval flags, Elizabeth I's commission of 5 March 1587 giving Sir Francis Drake command of the fleet that 'singed the King of Spain's beard', Armada medals and relics from the Spanish ships that sank off Ireland. 

Buckland Abbey lies about 166 km from Sherborne, home of Sir Walter Raleigh, hero in the new film about Elizabeth: The Golden Years. In the film the two figures have been fused into one.

Details about a visit may be found here

Read also a detailed presentation of a Tudor itenerary, presented by visitengland.com