Audley End House and Gardens
Jacobean mansion near Saffron Walden with Georgian interiors, a Victorian service wing, stables and Capability Brown parkland.
Alleen afzonderlijke secties laten voorlezen
Over het museum
A priory stood at Audley End from the twelfth century. Between about 1605 and 1614 Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk and Lord Treasurer to James I, rebuilt the earlier house on a huge scale. It was so big that Charles II bought it for the crown some fifty years later. The Howard family bought it back in 1701 and gradually reduced it, so that today only about a third of the original building survives.
In the 1760s Robert Adam modernised the interiors for Sir John Griffin Griffin, while Capability Brown reshaped the grounds into a landscape park. In the 1820s Richard Neville, later 3rd Lord Braybrooke, remodelled the house to bring back its Jacobean character, which still defines it. By the 1880s the household and estate employed well over a hundred people, and the service wing shows how the Victorian kitchens, laundry and other work areas ran, with the cook Mrs Avis Crocombe as a guide to life below stairs.
During the Second World War Polish soldiers of the Special Operations Executive trained in secret at Audley End before being parachuted into occupied Poland. The house and gardens are now cared for by English Heritage and include the great hall, state rooms, the nursery, the stables with resident horses and a children’s play area.
Hoogtepunten
- Great hall, state rooms and private apartments with fine furniture and art
- Victorian service wing showing life below stairs in the 1880s
- Capability Brown parkland and formal gardens
- Stables with resident horses
- Nursery with Victorian toys and dressing up
Vaste collectie
- The house – The great hall, state rooms and private apartments, with fine furniture and art, plus the 1830s nursery and the coal gallery.
- Service wing – The Victorian kitchens and working rooms show how the servants ran the house in the 1880s.
- Stables – The grand stables with resident horses and an exhibition about estate life.
- Opgericht
- 1700
- Beheerder
- English Heritage
Toegangsprijzen & kortingen
| Volwassenen | £ 20,06 |
|---|---|
| Met korting | £ 18,53Concessions |
| Kinderen & jongeren | £ 10,03Children aged 5 to 17. |
| Gezinnen | £ 50,15Two adults and up to three children. A one-adult family ticket (up to three children) costs £30.09. |
| Family ticket, one adult and up to three children (advance online) | £ 30,09 |
Prices shown are the lowest winter prices for tickets booked online in advance (until midnight the day before) without a donation. Tickets bought on the day cost more (adult £23.60 in December and £25.40 in October); a ticket with a voluntary 10% donation costs slightly more. Prices change with the season. Visitors who arrive by train, bus or bicycle get 20% off a walk-up ticket on showing a travel ticket or cycle helmet. Tickets are free for English Heritage members.
Toegankelijkheid
- Deels rolstoeltoegankelijk
- Lift: niet aanwezig
- Aangepast toilet
- Gehandicaptenparkeerplaats
- Hulphonden welkom
- Tastmodellen / voelbare objecten
- Rondleidingen in gebarentaal
- Informatie in eenvoudige taal: geen informatie
- Audiodescriptie: geen informatie
The ground floor of the house is level, but there is no lift and the first floor can only be reached by stairs. The shop and accessible toilets have level access, and an adult changing area is available. The tearoom has ramped access; the Cart Yard café has three steps. Mobility scooters and wheelchairs can be booked on 01799 522842. Accessible parking bays are first come, first served. The grounds have gravel, tarmac, cobbles and grass with gentle slopes, and some bridges have a step or a steep slope. Braille guides and tactile objects in the historic kitchen and British Sign Language tours are available. Assistance dogs are welcome and water bowls are provided.
Kinderen & gezin
Erg geschikt voor kinderen & gezinnen
| Gezinsticket | £ 50,15 · Two adults and up to three children. A one-adult family ticket (up to three children) costs £30.09. |
|---|
- Gezinsrondleidingen & workshops
- Doe- en voelstations
- Verschoonruimte
- Speeltuin / speelhoek
The nursery lets children play with Victorian toys and dress up, and the stables have dressing-up clothes. A wooden playground at the Cart Yard has a mini mansion to climb, a sensory garden and an assault course. Baby changing is in the tearoom and at the Cart Yard Café.
Bereikbaarheid & parkeren
Met het openbaar vervoer
Audley End station
Audley End railway station is 1¼ miles from the house, with a taxi rank at the station; the footpath is unlit and runs along a busy road. Buses pass within ¼ mile of the entrance: Stephensons 6, 59 and 313, C.J. Myall 101, 132 (Sundays only), TGM 301 and Viceroy 34, 59 and 590.
Met de auto
Gratis parkeren
Free car park with overflow parking on a grass area. The access gate is 9 ft 6 in high and 9 ft wide, so larger vehicles should ask staff for help.
- Gehandicaptenparkeerplaats
The house is 1 mile west of Saffron Walden on the B1383, reached from junction 8 or 10 of the M11. Satnav: CB11 4JF.
Route plannenService & horeca
- Café
- Museumwinkel
Servants’ Hall Tearoom (closes 30 minutes before the grounds) and the Cart Yard Café next to the play area (weekends and school holidays only); the main shop sells souvenirs, gifts, books, plants and local products, and there is a second-hand bookshop. Picnics are welcome in the grounds.
Evenementen & zaalverhuur
Het museum heeft hierover geen informatie gepubliceerd.
Je bezoek plannen
| Rondleidingen | ja |
|---|---|
| Audiotour | nee |
| Aanbod voor scholen | ja |
| Goed om te weten | Tours of the stables with the resident horses are offered, and tour places can be signed up for at the visitor centre. Pushchairs have to be left in the Bucket Hall when visiting the house. There are school visits and group visits. |
