Stoneleigh Abbey Panorama

The Cistercian abbey at Stoneleigh was founded in 1154, dissolved in 1535, and sold to Sir Thomas Leigh in 1561. The house remained in the hands of the Leigh family right up to 1996. The grand West Wing, by Francis Smith of Warwick, was built between 1720 and 1726, under the patronage of Edward, 3rd Lord Leigh.

In 1809 Humphrey Repton developed plans for the park. Although the works ultimately undertaken did not deliver the whole of Repton’s plans, the course of the River Avon was altered to provide a lake to the south of the house. This formality of this and the West Wing acts as a foil to the remaining mediaeval buildings.

(Left click on the photographs to view these full screen.)