Woburn Abbey

Exteriors

The Abbey is built from a local stone called Tottenhoe Clunch: this has caused many problems in the past as it is a rather soft porous material. The erosive effect of the weather and industrial pollution can be seen in several areas where the face of the stone is 'spalling'. There is a programme of restoration of the main fabric of the house now in operation, which will span five years. It is hoped to start on the west facade and will cost in the region of £250,000. The work will entail cutting back the stone and refacing, using fresh material. The Abbey stonemasons have over the past few years pioneered new methods of refacing the stonework, while still maintaining the important classical lines of the building. The result of this work can be seen on the walls of the South Stable block where theAntiques Centre and restaurants are situated. The chimney-stacks of the Abbey have just been repointed and some rebuilt as they were in danger of collapsing.

The Chinese Dairy is in the process of being repainted and some of the rotting uprights of the covered walk are being replaced. We use the same colour scheme as in the original design by Henry Holland. The Dairy can be seen on a walk through the public area of the forty-eight acres of ground surrounding the Abbey.

The Sculpture Gallery was first built as a greenhouse by Henry Holland in the 1790s. Then in 1800 it was turned into a Sculpture Gallery (although still referred to as 'the Greenhouse'), when the items bought at Lord Cawdor's sale were placed in there. In 1813 Sir Jeffry Wyatt designed the Greenhouse/Camellia House which joins on to the Sculpture Gallery. At one time there was a covered walk which extended from the house to the Gallery and then continued through the Holland Corridor, now lined with sarcophagi, round the Riding School and Tennis Court and connected with the walk to the Chinese Dairy. Most of this walk, the Riding School, and the Tennis Court were demolished in 1949/50 when dry rot was found in thefabric of the Riding School. To keep the buildings in good order regular inspections are made by the Maintenance Department and the state of the walls, roofs, paving and woodwork is recorded. During adverse weather conditions, roof and drain inspections are carried out daily, following the principle that prevention is a necessity. There are approximately 3,000 acres inside the park walls and the Parks Department is responsible for the general tidying and maintenance of the park. Each year the Woods Department plants 100 standard oak trees, six-foot high, plus the replacements for any other trees damaged or blown down in the gales.

There are nine species of deer in the park - Red, Fallow, Manchurian Sika, Axis, Rusa, Bara Singa, Chinese Water Deer, Muntjac and Pere David. Deer are also found in the Safari Park At the end of the last century there was no finer collection of wildlife in Britain outside Regent's Park than at Woburn; for it must be remembered that even in those days twenty-five animal species could be seen here in the park including Przewalski Horses, Trumpeter Swans, Anoas, Kiang, Sing Sing Antelope, Moose, Musk ox, Gnu, Yak, Pelicans, European Bison and Wallaby.

There are nearly 600 Pere David deer at Woburn. They originally came from China and were saved from extinction by Herbrand, the 11th Duke. Recently enquiries were made by the Chinese Government about the possibility of reintroducing some of the deer. The outcome was that Lord Tavistock donated twenty-two deer to the Chinese Government and in November 1985 he released the Pere David from the Woburn herd into their new home in an area approximately fourteen miles south of Beijing, the capital of China.