The house from a circa 1910 postcard
Flaxley's gardens very likely influenced the design of those at Westbury Court
Westbury's gardens were very likely based on those of Flaxley Abbey
Earlier Houses: The house sits on the site of a Cistercian monastery founded in the 12th century by Miles FitzWalter of Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford. Elements of the the south wall of the monastery's nave survive in the orangery.
House & Family History: In the late 17th and early 18th centuries Flaxley was the home of the great philanthropist Catherina Boevey, who supported the poor, gave financial relief to prisoners, and taught disadvantaged children to read. Catherina, the daughter of a Dutch merchant, may have been most famous for the Dutch style gardens (destroyed) that she created at Flaxley Abbey (see "Images" section).
Garden & Outbuildings: The Dutch style gardens that Catherina Boevey laid out at Flaxley (see "Images" section) were influential in Britain and were very likely the direct inspiration for the Dutch style gardens at the neighboring Westbury Court Estate (also see "Images" section).
Architect: Anthony Keck
Date: 1777-83Architect: Oliver Messel
Date: 1961-62Country Life: CLIII, 842, 908, 980, 1973.
House Listed: Grade I
Park Listed: Not Listed
Current Seat / Home of: Philip Baden-Watkins and Lynn Zijlmans (grandchildren of Fred Watkins)
Past Seat / Home of: Abraham II Clark, until 1683. William Boevey, 1683-92; Catherina Boevey, 1692-1726; Sir Thomas Crawley-Boevey, 2nd Bt., until 1818. Fred Watkins, from 1960.
Current Ownership Type: Individual / Family Trust
Primary Current Ownership Use: Private Home
House Open to Public: No
Historic Houses Member: No