Earlier Houses: Like many English country houses, Arbury has an ecclesiastical background; in the 14th century, during the reign of Henry II, Ralph de Sudeley founded an Augustinian monastery here. In 1536 the monastery was dissolved by Henry VIII and confiscated by the crown. In 1538 it was granted to Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk. During the reign of Queen Elizabeth I Arbury was purchased by Sir Edmund Anderson, a lawyer who demolished the old house and built anew. By 1586 Sir Edmund found Arbury inconvenient for his frequent need to be in London; thus, that year he exchanged the Estate for Harefield Place in Middlesex, which was the property of John Newdegate.

Built / Designed For: Sir Edmund Anderson

House & Family History: In the 18th century Sir Roger Newdigate, a direct descendant of John Newdegate, rebuilt Arbury as the Gothic Revival house seen today. Sir Roger was a wealthy landowner, patron of the arts, and MP for Oxford for 30 years (from 1750 until 1780). Sir Roger made a drawing of the Roman arch at Aosta which was later (1774) used by Piranesi as the basis for an engraving. The Newdigate Prize for Poetry at Oxford was endowed by Sir Roger; he also presented, in 1776, to the University of Oxford two candelabrum reconstructed by Piranesi from antique fragments. George Eliot was born on the Arbury Estate, where her father was for many years the agent. The House and Sir Roger Newdigate were immortalized in her book "Scenes of Clerical Life." Arbury is one of the most complete and best preserved Gothic Revival houses in England, with no rivals in scale. The famous Saloon was inspired by Henry VII's Chapel at Westminster Abbey.

Collections: The Long Gallery contains the chair and table used by Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk, the father of Lady Jane Grey.

Comments: Arbury is often called the "Gothic Gem of the Midlands," or the "Strawberry Hill of the Midlands." Pevsner called the house "one of the finest examples of the early Gothic Revival in England."

Garden & Outbuildings: The House sits in the middle of a park with lakes and woods with rhododendrons, azaleas, and giant wisteria. The circa 1674 Stableblock, attributed to Sir Christopher Wren, is one of the architect's few works outside London. At Caumsett, the Marshall Field II estate on New York's Long Island, architect John Russell Pope designed, in the 1920s, the Stables in emulation of Wren's Stableblock at Arbury.

John Bernard (J.B.) Burke, published under the title of A Visitation of the Seats and Arms of the Noblemen and Gentlemen of Great Britain and Ireland, among other titles: Vol. II, p. 13, 1853.

Country Life: XXXIV, 356, 1913. CXIV, 1126, 1210, 1414, 1953.

House Listed: Grade I

Park Listed: Grade II

Seat of: James Edward FitzRoy Newdegate, 4th Viscount Daventry; Newdegate (Newdigate) family here over 400 years.

Past Seat of: SEATED AT EARLIER HOUSE: Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk and 1st Viscount Lisle, 16th century. SEATED AT CURRENT HOUSE: Sir Edmund Anderson, 16th century. John Newdegate. 16th century; Sir Roger Newdigate, 18th century.

Current Ownership Type: Individual / Family Trust

Primary Current Ownership Use: Private Home

House Open to Public: Yes

Phone: 02476-382-804

Fax: 02476-641-147

Email: info@arburyestate.co.uk

Website: http://www.arburyestate.co.uk

Historic Houses Member: Yes