Launde Abbey

Richard and Maud Basset founded the Augustinian Priory of St. John the Baptist in an area which was a minor Royal forest. According to Pevsner, this occurred between 1119 and 1125.The name ‘Launde’ is Old French for ‘glade’ or ‘pasture’ and indicates a clearing in the woods.

The landscape at Launde was a complicated one – reflecting the economic structure at the time. It was a minor royal forest. In 1235, the Abbot requested permission to create a deer park, as the forest was contracting in size. In 1248 permission was awarded and the forest continued as a park until the dissolution of the monasteries in the early 16th century.

Park Wood was the site of the park, which extended to West Wood. This remained virtually unchanged for centuries. Earthwork banks to the west, north and south of the house may be associated with the medieval deer park. Some fishponds and a water ‘tank’ at the top of the hill above the priory date from the medieval period.

In the period prior to the Dissolution, there is evidence that Thomas Cromwell had an interest in the priory and 1539, it was surrendered to the Dissolution Commissioners. In April 1540, in his 'Remembrances', Cromwell made a note: 'Myself for Launde' but by June he had been imprisoned and was executed on 28 July 1540.The possessions at Launde were listed as 'Manor of Launde with the site and precincts of the priory, desmesne lands, a watermill, tithes, etc. there.'

Perhaps surprisingly, his son, Gregory, was granted the property in 1541. Possibly his marriage to Elizabeth Seymour, sister of the deceased Queen Jane, meant that he retained royal favour. In 1551, Gregory died and was buried in Launde Abbey Chapel. Pevsner describes his monument as 'One of the purest monuments of the early Renaissance in England'.
In 1586, the Whatborough map shows a U-shaped house, closed by a wall or fence. This was probably based on the layout of the former cloister.

Cromwells lived at Launde until the end of the 16th century and then, for the next three centuries, the house passed through the hands of various owners. The first were the Smiths, followed by the Halfords. Pevsner states that the present house is early 17th century and it was probably built around 1611 for the then owner, William Halford. There is also a mention of two rabbit warrens from this period.

In the early 18th century, the owners were the Clarkes. Estate details of 1728 mention an orchard, gardens, courtyards, one dovecote and nine fishponds – well-stocked and in good repair.

By the middle of the century, the estate was owned by the Simpsons. A valuation 1765 describes it as:'A large substantial house built chiefly of stone and slated, bow windows at the front. A chapel adjoining to the house, good stables, coachhouse, a large barn, Dovehouse (again), very convenient out-houses all built of the same materials. Valued at £300'.
Earthworks to the west front of the house may represent the remains of a 17th-century formal garden.(Alternatively, they may be the remains of earlier buildings associated with the Priory.)There is a terrace which has been highlighted in an earthworks survey. It has been suggested that avenues of trees and bushes, with formal ponds, may have extended from the house.

There are other outlying earthworks, including a possible prospect mound and a windmill mound.

The stable block was built during the mid-18th century: 'for eight horses with cottages for grooms at each end'.

By 1800, the garden was visited by the historian, John Nichols, when no traces of a formal garden remained. Several illustrations show the front façade of the house, pre-dating the construction of the ha-ha. Another engraving shows the chapel with an area of water in the location of the present-day sunken garden.

In the early 19th century, the ha-ha, icehouse, kitchen garden wall and greenhouse were all constructed.

In 1828, Mary Finch Simpson married Edward Dawson (1802-1859) of Long Whatton, bringing the Launde Abbey estate to her husband. In 1829, they engaged Thomas Rickman to add service rooms between the two back wings of the house.

The Dawsons continued to own the estate throughout the 19th century. The garden was in its heyday during this period. Mature trees in the garden, such as wellingtonia, copper beech and cedar of Lebanon appear to date from the second half of the 19th century. There are believed to have been eight gardeners employed.

Edward Dawson was obviously actively involved in the development of the garden and, in 1861, wrote to his brother: 'I am going to begin at once the terrace in front of the house, and I hope by the beginning of May to have it fit to put flowers in. I am also going to move the drying ground next summer, to the place where the present garden is, and make a flower border similar to the south house…. I am busy moving evergreens now'.

In 1865, a visitor, Laura de Lisle, records in her diary that she was playing 'croquet all the afternoon'.

The Ordinance Survey map of 1904 highlights a number of interesting features: there is a fountain in the area which had been a fishpond when John Nichols visited in 1800 (now a sunken garden). In 1904 there were also trees recorded in this area.

There is a substantial network of paths throughout the garden, many no longer existing.

There is a circular structure between the house and the stable block (also shown on the 1884 OS map), possibly the dovecote mentioned in 18th-century documentation. Alternatively, it might be a gas accumulator.

There are a series of buildings to the north of the kitchen garden, occupying the same position at the glasshouses seen in the 1950 aerial photo.

To the south of the walled garden is a substantial orchard area. The aerial photos of the late 1940s show that this had declined considerably.

During this period, John Shillaker was head gardener. His daughter wrote in 1977: 'the gardens were beautiful in those days. Father did a lot of carpet bedding and the greenhouses had peaches, grapes, melons and plants of all kinds'.

In 1886, Edward Finch Dawson (1836-1892) leased out Launde Abbey, furnished. The property continued to be let at various times during the early decades of the 20th century.

In 1932, Lieutenant Colonel Sir Henry Tate left the Army and took Launde Abbey as a hunting and shooting box. He wrote that he had three gardeners, so by this time, the gardens were obviously past their peak. Launde was sub-let during the war years, during which time, paratroopers training for Arnhem also occupied part of the premises.

In 1946, the Dawsons put the house on the market and advertised it in Country Life.

The sale details of 1946 describe 'well-wooded parkland…. Pleasure grounds, hard tennis court. Walled kitchen garden, Orchard, Parkland. About 45 acres'.

In 1954, Launde was on the market again. The sale particulars mention 'lawns, flower and rose beds and walled kitchen garden'.

In 1957 Mr. and Mrs. Cecil Coleman purchased Launde Abbey and presented it to the diocese of Leicester. They paid for the necessary conversion works to make it into the Leicester Diocesan Retreat House and Conference Centre.

In 1986, the stable block was converted for residential use.