Buckland Abbey

The abbey of Quarr had close connections with the family, having been founded by Baldwin de Redvers, 1st Earl of Devon.

[3] Most of this church survives within the present house - the arches supporting the tower can be seen in the top floor, and one of the transept chapels retains its vault.

In 1337 King Edward III granted the monks a licence to crenellate, allowing them to fortify the abbey.

At the eventual suppression in 1539, Abbot John Toker was given a yearly pension of £60 (equivalent to £50,900 in 2023),[6] and the remaining twelve monks shared £54 10s.

In 1541 Henry sold Buckland to Sir Richard Grenville the Elder (Sewer of the Chamber to Henry VIII, poet, soldier, last Earl Marshal of Calais) who, working with his son Sir Roger Grenville (Gentleman of the Privy Chamber of Henry VIII, captain of the ill-fated Mary Rose), began to convert the abbey into a residence, renaming it Buckland Greynvile or Grenville.

[3] The abbey is unusual in that the church was retained as the principal component of the new house whilst most of the remainder was demolished, which was a reversal of the normal outcome with this type of redevelopment.

The main external changes were the demolition of the transepts, to let light into a central hall under the tower, and the addition of a new service wing on the south side.

[3] In the early 20th century the abbey was inhabited by the Dowager Lady Seaton, born Elisabeth Fuller-Elliot-Drake, who died on 9 May 1937.

[3] Lady Seaton left a life interest to Captain Richard Owen Tapps Gervis Meyrick.

[11] Following a restoration between 1948 and 1951 which cost around £20,000 (equivalent to £790,000 in 2023),[6] largely funded by the Pilgrim Trust[12] the property has been open to the public since 1951 and is operated by the National Trust with the assistance of Plymouth City Council — the Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery use the building to house part of their collection.