In June 1858, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert embarked on a three day tour of Warwickshire, where the Queen was to open the public museum and garden at Aston Hall. Although the couple were originally meant to stay at Warwick Castle, Albert’s declining health led to them searching for a much quieter location. Upon hearing about the instillation of Thomas Crappers first flushing toilet (also known as the ‘Crapper’), Victoria and Albert decided to stay at nearby Stoneleigh Abbey with Lord and Lady Leigh. Join me as I look at the changes made to impress Queen Victoria, her and Albert’s time at the abbey and also the history of the abbey.
Founded by King Henry II in 1154, Stoneleigh Abbey served as a monetary for local Cistercian Monks. However, following the dissolution of the monasteries in the early 16th century, the abbey was destroyed in 1535 and just ruins remained. In 1565, Lord Mayor of London, Sir Thomas Leigh, brought the land and turned the ruins into a house, which passed down the Leigh family until the 1990’s. Between 1720 and 1726, Edward, 3rd Baron Leigh built the west wing, which now poses as the main entrance.
Throughout it’s time as a home, Stoneleigh abbey hosted a variety of high profile guests, including: Lord Byron; Mary Shelley; George Elliot; and even a young Charles Dickens! While this list is already impressive, in 1806, Jane Austen accompanied her mother, sister Cassandra and her mothers cousin, Reverend Thomas Leigh, to the abbey when he went to claim the house as his own property. While she was there, Jane overheard the staff telling stories about past residents and was inspired by what she heard. Remembering each detail, she later turned many of the figures into characters for her books, and even used Stoneleigh Abbey as inspiration for the settings in some of her novels!
Yet, in 1858, the Abbey played host to perhaps its biggest guest, Queen Victoria. Between 14th and 16th June, the Queen and Prince Albert spent two nights at Stoneleigh Abbey. While they were there, they enjoyed wandering the grounds and sitting under the wooden huts, which had been built especially for their stay. As with any royal visit, the Leigh family wanted to go above and beyond to impress their Queen. However, with just six months notice apposed the the usual two years, Lord and Lady Leigh had little time to prepare. None the less, they were certainly able to pull it off with more than just a fresh coat of paint and wooden huts.
When looking at which rooms should be used for the visit, the Leigh family came to notice that their ballroom was much too small to host a large dinner and instead decided to convert the saloon into a banqueting hall. But there was one slight problem. The room was blocked off at each end by four supporting pillars. Hoping for a bigger space, the family made the drastic decision to remove the two central pillars from each end, permanently damaging the structural stability of their own home! The Leigh family also knew that the Queen disliked exposed wood so made the decision to paint their doors, fireplaces and even the walls. They also decided to paint and guild the four poster Chippendale bed, which was to be used by the Queen. While she liked the bed and described her rooms as “beautifully furnished and decorated”, this simple change has caused the bed to lose 75% of its value! Other rooms decorated and prepared for the queen included “a little anteroom, sitting room, [and] a dressing room, … which opens with Albert’s dressing room”. On the second floor, the Queens room was specifically selected for her visit due to it’s stunning views overlooking the river Avon.
It might seem like the Leigh family had already done their part in creating a memorial experience, but they had one major trick still up their sleeves. Since watching a demonstration of the Incandescent Bulb (similar to a light bulb) at the Crystal Palace a few years before, the Queen had been fascinated by the new technology. Taking this into consideration, the Leigh’s had copper wiring with colourful bulbs installed around the abbey’s exterior, gatehouse and around the grounds. This addition would have already been costly, before they had even thought of building three small ‘houses’ to store the power engines! During Victoria’s first night, the lights were switched on. In her journal, she wrote that “the old gateway was beautifully illuminated, also the front of the house”. However, the only surviving version of the journal forgets to mention how people from nearby towns, villages and cities had seen the Abbey glowing in the distance and panicked that it was ablaze. As a result, many people to travelled to the Abbey with buckets. Much to their surprise, there was no fire and, instead, they saw the Queen wandering the grounds! Hoping for a quiet getaway, Queen Victoria certainly wasn’t amused!
While that’s all the major changes the family made to their home, they also made some small additions to their home. My personal favourite is a pink ‘VR’ china set that the family commissioned from Minton specifically for the Queens stay. Having caused Minton to halt their usual Severn Trent production line for two weeks, the china set cost the family £6,000 and was only ever used twice! When I visited Stoneleigh Abbey to do research for this blog, I was lucky enough to help clean the set and I can certainly say that they still look brand new!
During my visit, Hugo, the member of staff showing me round, told me about the bedspread made by lady Leigh for Queen Victoria to use. Having already spent an ungodly amount on redecorating, lady Leigh decided to turn an old silk and swan feather ball gown into a rather elegant bedspread. As beautiful as it, the queen never actually used it and instead used her own personal bedding, which was under the care of a dedicated maid. While I was there, I was told that this maid also had the duty of sewing Victoria into her sheets so that she didn’t fall out bed. Having never heard this fact before, I can neither confirm or deny whether this is true but it would be fascinating if it is!
Another interesting fact I learnt while at the Abbey is that Queen Victoria had a fear of doorhandles! Having been brought up under the strict Kensington System, Victoria was led to believe that doorhandles could have been laced in poison, which would kill her if touched. Unaware of this, the staff at Stoneleigh Abbey closed the door behind themselves, leaving the queen locked inside. Everyone searched the grounds and house trying to find her, with the bedroom being the last room they checked. As they opened the door, it’s said that Victoria came running out. Sadly this also isn’t mentioned in her journals but we can only imagine how unhappy she must have been!
As Victoria left Stoneleigh, her and Albert each planted a tree, which unfortunately has since been struck by lightning. The Queen then gave Lady Leigh a bracelet as a souvenir of her stay. According to the royal collection, Lord Leigh also gave Victoria a painting of the Abbey. The visit had been a success, with Victorias only complaint being that the saloon was nice but would be nicer if it had been guilted – there certainly is no pleasing some people!
When she returned home, the Queen had been so impressed by the flushing toilet that she requested for one to be installed at Osborne House, where it can still be seen by visitors today! Since then, the abbey continued to be passed down through the Leigh family. In 1960, it unfortunately became victim to a large fire, which ruined most of the top floor. By the end of the 1990s, the Leigh family had left the abbey and most of the building was separated into private apartments. The orangery and two lower floors of the west wing are now ran by a private charity and can be visited for tours and afternoon tea from Sunday to Thursday. While on a tour of the house, visitors can see the Queens bedroom, – which is set out exactly as it would have been when she stayed – the Saloon, the Ballroom, the Vaulted Hall, the Staircase Hall, the Guilt Hall, the Chapel, – as described by Jane Austen – the Drawing Room, the Card Room, the Library, and the Dining Room. The Abbey is also a popular wedding venue!
If you would like to read Queen Victoria’s journals during her stay, you will be able to find all three parts linked below. You can find out more about the abbey over on the Stoneleigh Abbey Website. I hope you have enjoyed todays blog. Please feel free to leave any questions in the comments section below or message me on Instagram and I will do my best to help. You can also support my research by visiting and subscribing to my Ko-fi page. Don’t forget, you can also subscribe to by blog for email updates about new blogs! Thank you again, Shannon x
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Thank you for that interesting blog about Stoneleigh Abbey and Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s visit. To answer your question: was it worth it, in regards to the Leigh family making so many changes to their abbey. It may have been worth it to the Leigh’s but when I read how they removed two central pillars to make a room larger they ruined the structural stability of their home, I would not have gone that far but it was done with good intentions. I love the photos of Stoneleigh and the lovely VR china that was specially made. I have been to England only once and didn’t have nearly enough time to visit all I wanted to. I hope to visit again and especially plan a visit to all places Victoria and Albert visited and especially to the homes they lived in.
I completely agree with you. I don’t personally think causing the ceilings to dip is worth it but I guess the Leigh’s were desperate to impress their Queen. I definitely recommend giving Stoneleigh a visit if you come to England, it’s absolutely stunning!