Battle Abbey
Battle Abbey, Battle, East Sussex
From 1540, the 13th century Abbot's house at Battle Abbey was converted into a grand country home for Sir Anthony Browne (1500-1548), Master of the Horse. Battle Abbey had been gifted to him from King Henry VIII. However, the ruins of the old abbey and church date back to 1070, when William the Conqueror was ordered by Pope Alexander II to do penance for killing so many people during the Conquest....
In 1721, the Brownes sold the estate to the Sir Thomas Webster (1679-1751) and except for the period 1858 to 1901, it remained in the Webster family until 1976 when they sold it to the British government. Between 1894 and 1914 it was leased to Michael Grace whose daughter was married here before making her home at Old Westbury Gardens. It then became a girls boarding school and Canadian troops were stationed here during the Second World War. Today, Battle Abbey School continues as a co-ed private school.
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Image Courtesy of Gareth T-P on Flickr
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