The Abbey, Aston Abbotts
Encyclopedia
The Abbey, Aston Abbotts is a small country house in Buckinghamshire
, United Kingdom
. The house derived its name from being a property of St. Albans Abbey in the Middle Ages
, and it belonged to the Dormer family from the Dissolution of the Monasteries
until the early 19th century. While in their ownership the house was almost continuously tenanted, and it was altered in a piecemeal way as a result. In the early 20th century it was a secondary seat of the Spencer family
of Coles Hall. It was the family home for Capt Harold and Mrs Beatrice (nee Shaw) Morton in 1923 and sold in 1989 after their deaths. It is now an L-shaped house with a plain, mildly neo-Classical, south front of c.1800, masking a medieval hall and dining-room, and Queen Anne drawing-room at W. end; the smaller west wing is Elizabethan.
During the Second World War from 1940 to 1945 Dr Edvard Beneš
, the exiled President of Czechoslovakia
, stayed at The Abbey in Aston Abbotts. During this period the Morton family moved to the Chauffeurs Cottage. The two families became the best of friends, Major Morton being invested as a Commander in the Order of the White Lion (Order of the White Lion
, third class), by the President in recognition.
In the gardens of the Abbey there is a lake with two islands, named after the ships HMS Erebus
and HMS Terror
.
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The house derived its name from being a property of St. Albans Abbey in the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, and it belonged to the Dormer family from the Dissolution of the Monasteries
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
until the early 19th century. While in their ownership the house was almost continuously tenanted, and it was altered in a piecemeal way as a result. In the early 20th century it was a secondary seat of the Spencer family
Spencer family
The Spencer family are a British noble family descended in the male line from Henry Spencer, claimed to be a descendant of the cadet branch of the ancient House Le Despencer , male-line ancestor of the Earls of Sunderland, the later Dukes of Marlborough, and the Earls Spencer...
of Coles Hall. It was the family home for Capt Harold and Mrs Beatrice (nee Shaw) Morton in 1923 and sold in 1989 after their deaths. It is now an L-shaped house with a plain, mildly neo-Classical, south front of c.1800, masking a medieval hall and dining-room, and Queen Anne drawing-room at W. end; the smaller west wing is Elizabethan.
During the Second World War from 1940 to 1945 Dr Edvard Beneš
Edvard Beneš
Edvard Beneš was a leader of the Czechoslovak independence movement, Minister of Foreign Affairs and the second President of Czechoslovakia. He was known to be a skilled diplomat.- Youth :...
, the exiled President of Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
, stayed at The Abbey in Aston Abbotts. During this period the Morton family moved to the Chauffeurs Cottage. The two families became the best of friends, Major Morton being invested as a Commander in the Order of the White Lion (Order of the White Lion
Order of the White Lion
The Order of the White Lion is the highest order of the Czech Republic. It continues a Czechoslovak order of the same name created in 1922 as an award for foreigners....
, third class), by the President in recognition.
In the gardens of the Abbey there is a lake with two islands, named after the ships HMS Erebus
HMS Erebus (1826)
HMS Erebus was a Hecla-class bomb vessel designed by Sir Henry Peake and constructed by the Royal Navy in Pembroke dockyard, Wales in 1826. The vessel was named after the dark region in Hades of Greek mythology called Erebus...
and HMS Terror
HMS Terror (1813)
HMS Terror was a bomb vessel designed by Sir Henry Peake and constructed by the Royal Navy in the Davy shipyard in Topsham, Devon. The ship, variously listed as being of either 326 or 340 tons, carried two mortars, one and one .-War service:...
.