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Newstead Abbey, Nottinghamshire

Newstead Abbey: this image is by Simon Johnston and is copyright free

The Byron family traced its origins back to a noble who came to England in 1066 with William the Conqueror. The family seat was at Newstead Abbey, founded by Henry the Second. At the time of the dissolution of the monasteries, Henry the Eighth sold the lands to John Byron, who left some of the Abbey as a romantic ruin, and lived in the remainder. This is a very early example of the picturesque ruin, a fashion which would become fashionable in the Victorian period. There is something poignant as well as picturesque about the ruined sections, wonderfully described by the great poet of the family, the sixth Lord Byron. He wrote in Don Juan:

 

A mighty window, hollow in the centre,

Shorn of its glass of thousand colourings

Through which the deepen'd glories once would enter,

Streaming from off the sun like seraph's wings

Now yawns all desolate: now loud, now fainter,

The gale sweeps through its fretwork, and oft sings

The owl his anthem where the silenced quire

Lie with their hallelujah's quench'd like fire

(Don Juan 13.62)

 

Sir John, the first Byron owner of Newstead Abbey, seemed a typical male member of the Byron family. He had an affair with his neighbour's wife resulting in a pregnancy: one scandal amongst many. It was this woman's son who eventually inherited Newstead Abbey, and kept the Byron line continuing on its turbulent journey through the centuries. The poet, George Byron inherited Newstead Abbey in 1798 when the Fifth, or "Wicked" Lord died. The Sixth Lord Byron loved the Abbey, but finances were always difficult, and without money for proper renovations living conditions were cold and damp. Byron did not live at the Abbey for any extended period of time, but he did take up residence there during the summer of 1808, not long after finishing at Cambridge. At this time in his life Byron was alone, except for his servants, and his beloved Newfoundland dog Boatswain. Sadly the dog died of rabies, and his distraught master wrote the following lines about him:

 

But the poor dog, in life the firmest friend

The first to welcome, foremost to defend,

Whose honest heart is still his master's own,

Whose labours, fights, lives, breathe for him alone,

Unhonoured falls, unnoticed all his worth,

Denied in heaven the soul he held on earth

 

The memorial to Boatswain at Newstead is actually bigger than the one for Byron. Boatswain was honoured after all.

Through all the tribulations of his life, Byron struggled to hold onto Newstead, but eventually in 1815 it was sold to Thomas Wildman. Byron was living abroad by this time, and the sale of the Abbey cut the last ties between the poet and England. After passing through the hands of several owners, the Abbey was presented to the City of Nottingham in 1931. It now houses a museum dedicated to Byron.

Opening Times: The gardens are open daily (except the last Friday in November and Christmas Day) 9am- 6pm, or until dusk, whichever is the earlier. The house is open 1st April to 30th September 12 midday - 5pm, last admission 4pm. Private tours of the house are available.

Directions: Newstead Abbey is twelve miles north of Nottingham on the A60, close to junction 27 of the M1. Click here for an interactive map cented in Newstead Abbey.

Access: Only part of the ground floor is accessible to people in wheelchairs. A wheelchair can be used on loan. Adapted toilet facilities are available. If you are disabled use the door phone at the entrance on the south side of the house.

Contact:

telephone: 01623 455 900

web site: http://www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/newstead/

e-mail: sally.winfield@nottinghamcity.gov.uk