Buckland Abbey

Originally a Cistercian abbey founded in 1278 by Amicia, Countess of Devon, it remained an abbey until the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Henry VIII sold it to Sir Richard Grenville who began to convert the building into a house with the help of his son Sir Roger Grenville; Sir Roger died on the Mary Rose. In 1581, the property was sold to Sir Francis Drake, who lived at Buckland Abbey for fifteen years. Drake’s descendants sold the Abbey in 1946 to a local landowner; he presented the property to the National Trust in 1948. The garden includes the Cider House garden with its herbaceous borders and wild garden, a kitchen garden, orchards and a medieval barn next to the house.