Woburn Abbey

Woburn Abbey is a country house and estate near the village of Woburn in Bedfordshire, England, long held as the seat of the Dukes of Bedford. The house stands within extensive landscaped grounds that include formal gardens and a working deer park.

The house contains state rooms and a family collection of paintings and decorative arts that are shown to the public on guided or self-guided visits; the surrounding gardens and parkland are open seasonally. The estate also contains a separate, privately run Woburn Safari Park close to the house but operated independently.

The estate occupies the site of a former Cistercian abbey founded in the 12th century; after the Dissolution the estate passed into secular ownership and became the Russell family seat in the 17th century. The grounds were shaped over successive centuries and include features associated with 18th-century landscape practice.

Woburn Abbey lies in the Bedfordshire countryside and is accessed from local roads and nearby towns; it is a long-established country house destination in southeastern England.

• Long family seat: The site occupies the grounds of a former Cistercian abbey founded in the 12th century; the present house has been the ancestral seat of the Russell family (Dukes of Bedford) since the 17th century.
• Parkland and gardens: The landscape includes designed gardens and parkland influenced by major 18th-century landscape designers and retains an extensive deer park open to visitors.

What to See #

• The house and state rooms: The main house and formal state rooms showcasing family portraits, decorative arts and historic interiors that reflect successive phases of development.
• Gardens and deer park: The landscaped gardens and Capability Brown-era parkland surrounding the house, historically managed as a deer park and still home to resident deer herds.
• Estate attractions: Separate visitor attractions on the estate include the adjacent commercial Woburn Safari Park, which is managed independently of the house and gardens.