Forde Abbey
Forde Abbey, near Chard on the Dorset/Somerset border is a former Cistercian monastery dating from the 12th century. A private family home since 1649 it combines elements of monastic austerity with stately comfort. Surrounded by 30 acres of award winning gardens and at the heart of a 1600 acre estate it also has access to farmland, woodland and a working farm including a herd of pedigree Devon Cattle, 1600 milking goats, soft fruit farm and arable.
Within the house rooms available include the Saloon lined with 17th century Mortlake tapestries and a Commonwealth plaster ceiling, several bedrooms with four poster beds and views across the gardens, a formal dining room and drawing room, the medieval Cloisters, the 16th century Great Hall, the vaulted Undercroft, Library, Chapel and various smaller rooms and cellars.
The garden hosts several architectural features including a tempietto, pagoda, statuary, a cascade of ponds and a pleached beech house. Areas of the garden include an Arboretum, Rock Garden and Bog Garden and 2 acre working kitchen garden with a Victorian Vine house. The garden has seamless views up into the Park with its avenue of trees.
