The clue is in the name: Buckland Abbey was built in the thirteenth century as a Cistercian monastery. It retained its function until the mid-sixteenth century, when Henry VIII ordered the dissolution of the monasteries.
The abbey was then sold to the English naval hero Richard Greville who turned it into a country house. Several decades later the house came into the hands of Greville’s arch-enemy, the explorer Francis Drake.
In the centuries that followed, Buckland Abbey was alternately owned by the two rival families. The last Drake sold the estate in 1938 and it was given to the National Trust ten years later.
Today people mainly visit because of Francis Drake, but they also get a Rembrandt into the bargain. His self-portrait was given to the National Trust in 2010 by Edna, Lady Samuel of Wych Cross.
From this house you will see the following work in the Mauritshuis:
- Rembrandt - Self-Portrait, Wearing a Feathered Bonnet(1635)
