25 AUG
2015

Welbeck Abbey State Room Tours

The Harley Gallery

Welbeck Abbey State Room Tours

Don't miss this unique opportunity to view fine and decorative arts from the internationally renowned Portland Collection in its historic setting at Welbeck Abbey.

 

 

 

 

 

The 2015 Welbeck Abbey State Room tours run daily from the 3rd to the 30th of August 2015. 

Book tickets through Ticketline:

Welbeck Abbey has been home to the Cavendish-Bentinck family from 1607 to the present.

The Welbeck Estate covers some 15,000 acres, nestled between Sherwood Forest and Clumber Park. At its heart lies Welbeck Abbey, a stately home which dates back to 1153 when it was founded as a Premonstratensian monastery.

Welbeck was acquired by Charles Cavendish, Bess of Hardwick’s third son, in 1607. Over the next four centuries, the family at Welbeck would collect artworks, commission architecture and combine family names, with, unusually, three females in succession inheriting the Estate. This line of descent includes marriages with the Dukedom of Newcastle, Earldom of Oxford and the Dukedom of Portland, each bringing additional wealth, status and power to Welbeck.

Visiting Welbeck Abbey

Welbeck Abbey’s State Rooms are open to the public for 28 days during August for guided tours. These walking tours last approximately an hour and a half.

Tickets can be booked in advance through Ticketline, or on the day at The Harley Gallery (subject to availability).

Please park in the main car park and check in for your tour at The Harley Gallery. Tour visitors will be collected from The Harley Gallery by mini bus and taken, through the 5th Duke of Portland’s Victorian village, to Welbeck Abbey. The coach will depart promptly, please arrange to arrive at the Harley Gallery in good time.

No photography is permitted during the tour. You will be given a complimentary pamphlet with images of the house.

Visitors are advised that there are no toilet facilities or seating on the tour; toilets, refreshments, shopping and exhibitions can be found at The Harley Gallery.

The Welbeck Abbey State Room Tours are managed by The Harley Gallery, part of The Harley Foundation which was set up by Ivy, Duchess of Portland in 1977.

The Tour 

The Welbeck Abbey State Room Tours last approximately an hour and a half, we advise that visitors wear comfortable footwear as you will on your feet for a long time. We kindly ask that stiletto shoes are not worn in the house.

The tour takes in the grand State Rooms, the Abbey’s reception rooms which have been host to royalty, aristocracy and statesmen.

The State Rooms are decorated with objects and artworks from The Portland Collection; an internationally significant collection which includes one of the largest privately owned collections of British portraits. Works on show at Welbeck Abbey include pieces by Sir Peter Lely, John Wootton and Sir Joshua Reynolds.

Visitors can also enjoy Welbeck Abbey's architecture which has evolved over the generations. The tour includes the Countess of Oxford’s soaring plasterwork ceiling in the Gothic Hall, and the Duchess of Portland’s State Rooms remodelled by Sir Ernest George, c. 1905.

Please be aware only small handbags are permitted on the tour.

Large bags, including rucksacks and shopping bags, must be left in your car or on the coach.

Stair-free tours

The Welbeck Abbey State Room Tours contain a number of steps and staircases. There is no seating on the tour; you will be required to stand for an extended period of time.

Our stair-free tours take in the State Rooms on the ground floor and offer more time to view each room. Stair-free tours take place at 12.30pm on Mondays during August. Please contact The Harley Gallery directly to make your booking:

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