page_title: Waverley Abbey
section_title: History after the Dissolution
hierarchical_section_title: Waverley Abbey / History after the Dissolution
caption_attribution_description: Waverley Abbey House, Farnham
context_page_description: Waverley Abbey was the first Cistercian abbey in England. It was founded in 1128 by William Giffard, the Bishop of Winchester. Located about 2 miles southeast of Farnham, Surrey, it is situated on a flood-plain; surrounded by current and previous channels of the River Wey. It was damaged on more than one occasion by severe flooding, resulting in rebuilding in the 13th century. Despite being the first Cistercian abbey in England, and being motherhouse to several other abbeys, Waverley was "slenderly endowed" and its monks are recorded as having endured poverty and famine.
  The abbey was suppressed in 1536 as part of King Henry VIII's Dissolution of the Monasteries. Subsequently, largely demolished, its stone was reused in local buildings, likely including "Waverley Abbey House", which was built in 1723 in the northern portion of the former abbey precinct.
  Waverley Abbey House, the ruins of the abbey and the surrounding land are all part of a conservation area. The house is a Grade II* Listed building and the ruins a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
  The ruins of the abbey are currently managed by English Heritage and open to the public.
context_section_description: Following dissolution the former abbey was granted to Sir William Fitzherbert, who was the treasurer of the king's household. The abbey itself was mostly demolished, with stone reused in local building work including at Loseley Park.
  The abbey's stone was also used in the construction of Waverley Abbey House which was built within the former abbey precinct, just north of the core abbey ruins. It was constructed in 1725 for Sir John Aislabie, former Chancellor of the Exchequer, to a design by Colen Campbell, possibly for the use of John's brother William, who had recently returned from India. William died the same year and the house was sold to Charles Child of Guildford, who in turn sold it to Thomas Orby Hunter in 1847.
  Later in the century Orby Hunter added wings, with further additions by Sir Robert Rich, 5th Baronet before 1786. It was bought around 1796 by the merchant John (later Poulett) Thomson, from Sir Charles Rich, 1st Baronet. He sold it about 1832 to George Thomas Nicholson, who rebuilt it after a fire in 1833.
  In the 20th century Waverley Abbey was owned by the Anderson family. Rupert Darnley Anderson, son of Thomas Darnley Anderson of Liverpool, inherited it from his brother Charles Rupert Anderson in 1894. His father had purchased it around 1869.
  Waverley Abbey House is now separated from the ruins by an artificial lake.
caption: Waverley Abbey House: built in 1725
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