Launde Abbey — history
Tim Blewett

The Chapel

Chapel
The Chapel is the only part left of the original Priory Church and dates mainly to the 12th and 13th centuries. The original Priory Church was three and a half time the width and extended a chapel’s length into the gardens and then along the side of the house and half way up the drive. The Priory Church was knocked down mainly by Gregory Cromwell and his son, Henry, in the 1540’s and 1550’s.

Items to note are the stained glass windows — the three large windows above the altar and the small windows on the south side wall date to about 1435. The monument to Gregory Cromwell, which is to the left of the altar, dates to 1551. It is said to be one of the finest examples of early English Renaissance sculpture in the country. The paintings to the back of the chapel are very fine examples of English cubism and date to the 1950’s.

 

The Dining Room

Dining Room
This part of the house dates at least to the 1550’s although the bay window was added in the 1630’s. The room was renewed by Thomas Rickman in 1829 — 1839. He took the panelling from another house and installed it here. There are three fire places that he has used to create the present fireplace — two stone and then the wooden surround. There are three dates in the room. The carvings of the figures attached to the panelling are from north Germany and were brought to Launde following someone’s holiday and installed in the 19th century.

 

The Hallway

Hallway
This room has again been worked on by Thomas Rickman in 1829 — 1839 when he was employed as the architect. Rickman is famous for having defined all the styles in architecture. There is a small painting of Thomas Cromwell and another larger one of Elizabeth Seymour who was married to Gregory Cromwell. The large seat is said to be the Prior’s chair and was removed from the Chapel in the 1950’s.

 

The Sitting Room

Sitting Room
This room which has such elegant proportions is wonderful to sit in! If you look at the windows from outside you will notice that one has been blocked up so that internally it has the right proportions. This was done in the 19th century when the room was used as the library. The windows have also been lengthened — and this is best seen from outside — as have all the downstairs windows. This can seen by a darker coloured stone being used after the original window sill was removed and a new, lower window sill was installed.

 

The House Conference Room

This is used as one of the meeting rooms for those who come to stay at Launde. It would have been used in the Victorian period as the Drawing Room by the family of the house. They would have sat in here during the day or in the evening. Occasionally the room is returned to this use dependant upon the needs of those staying at Launde.