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| 15th Duke of Bedford |
This is the 52nd anniversary of the opening of Woburn Abbey to public visitors by my grandfather, Ian, the Thirteenth Duke. When he first came here in 1953 with Duchess Lydia, he inherited a house that had fallen into a very poor state of repair during the course of the war and a huge bill for death duties. It would have been easy to hand the property over to the National Trust, but he was determined to restore Woburn Abbey to the family home it had always been and he stopped at almost nothing to make it a successful enterprise, so that the Abbey and its treasures would be saved for future generations. His innovative approach even included events such as a nudist convention. With Duchess Nicole, he also created the Antiques Centre, which was then, and is now, the largest centre outside London. In the 1970s, along with Jimmy Chipperfield, the opening of the Safari Park drew over one million visitors to Woburn and is today an award-winning attraction which makes a valuable contribution to conservation.
His work was continued by my parents, Robin and Henrietta, the Marquess and Marchioness of Tavistock, when they moved into the Abbey in 1974. They did an amazing job continuing to bring Woburn back to life and rejuvenating this wonderful home and estate.
It was entirely due to the foresight of my father, who sadly died in 2003, that the game of golf was brought to Woburn in 1973. Woburn Golf Club quickly became an established venue in the world of tournament golf and today has three championship courses in the UK's Top 100 (Golf World, November 2004). My parents also formed the Bloomsbury Stud in 1970. More recently, we have bought the hotel in Woburn village back into the estate. It is now fully refurbished and renamed the Inn at Woburn.
My family and I are lucky to live in such a beautiful place and to have
the opportunity to guide Woburn into its next 50 years. There are exciting
times ahead. The businesses on the estate continue to develop and change
and future projects may include the restoration of the North Court at the
Abbey, a new golf academy and facility development at the golf club and an
exciting elephant conservation project at Woburn Safari Park.
Although Woburn Abbey is a historic country house it is also a home. The collection, of which we are justly proud, continues to be augmented and enriched by new items, antique and modern, so that there is something new to discover when you visit.
We hope that you will visit Woburn soon
