The Bedford Estates, London
Woburn Abbey has been undergoing extensive renovation since 2019. What started as a project to rebuild the Screen Walls to the East of the Abbey and to refurbish the visitor route, including adding a DDA passenger lift, has expanded to tackle underlying structural issues which have been found in the building. We are making the most of the opportunity to get everything resolved to safeguard the Abbey and its heritage for many years to come.
We have made some fantastic progress. The Screen Walls have been completed and received a prestigious award for Craftsmanship from the Stone Federation. Close examination of archives and the fabric of the building has revealed new and interesting details, and using heritage craft skills we are reinstating many rooms to their original schemes, as well as a reflection of our own personal taste. New silks have been woven for the State Room walls, many thousands of hours have been poured into stonework repairs and conservation.
However, we continue to encounter unforeseen issues – not least in the extent of the poor condition of the roof structure. We have also decided to limewash the Abbey’s exterior to protect the vulnerable stone from future weathering. Work is taking place in the gardens, too. A sympathetically designed new visitor arrival building is going up, to replace the 1960s structures built by my grandfather, and the Duchess is overseeing the design of the new guest entrance garden where these and the old tea room once stood.
We knew the refurbishment would be a considerable project, but taking the house apart has enabled the building to tell us what it has been through over the past centuries. This in turn has helped inform us about how best to restore it in the manner it deserves. Unfortunately the extent of the problems that we have found means we will have to delay reopening until 2026.
Although the extended works are a disappointing setback, we strongly believe that now is the right time to tackle everything, and it will truly be worth the wait.
We look forward to welcoming you back to enjoy The Abbey and its surroundings in due course, however, in the meantime the rest of the Estate including Woburn Safari Park, Woburn Golf Club and the Deer Park's footpaths remain open.