In the 12th Century, Rufford Abbey was a Cistercian monastery. Twelve monks from Rievaulx Abbey in Yorkshire had travelled down to Nottinghamshire to create a ‘daughter house’.

After the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the estate was given to George Talbot, the Earl of Shrewsbury. The 6th Earl inherited the estate in 1560 and began the conversion of the Abbey to a house. His wife was Bess of Hardwick [see Hardwick Hall and Chatsworth]

The north and south wings were added by 7th Earl of Shrewsbury in 1610.

In 1626, the Rufford estate was inherited by Sir George Savile and his first wife Lady Mary, who was sister to the 7th and 8th Earls of Shrewsbury. The family were Royalists and Charles I visited Rufford in July, 1642.

In 1660, Sir George Savile, 4th Baronet of Thornhill had the remaining Abbey ruins demolished. He rebuilt the house, added the stables and landscaped the gardens.

In 1729, the 7th Baronet built the bathhouse and garden pavilion, both designed by John Hallam. He also laid out the ornamental canal and Broad Ride and updated the stables.

The 8th and last Baronet dammed the stream in 1750 to create the lake and provide power for his new corn mill, now known as Rufford Mill. He also planted numerous trees.

In 1837, Anthony Salvin was appointed architect to update the house.

In 1889, the bathhouse was converted into an orangery to house exotic plants and sculpture.

In 1938 with rising costs, the trustees of the 3rd Baron were forced to sell the estate of over 18,000 acres to Sir Albert Ball, Mayor of Nottingham. The Mayor broke the land up into smaller lots and sold them off. Rufford Abbey passed through several hands and by the late 1950s, the interior of the Abbey had been stripped and the gardens neglected.

In 1957, Nottinghamshire County Council bought the house and the gardens and in 1969 opened them to the public.

The formal gardens were created in 1983 while to the north-east is the Reg Hookway Arboretum. Planted with varieties of oak and birch, the area is laid out as a memorial to the first director of the Countryside Commission who died in 1982.

The pleasure grounds to the north of the Abbey are made up almost entirely of woodland. Two of the three ice houses are still visible but not accessible to the public.