Wroxton Abbey is set in the delightful and peaceful thatched village of Wroxton near Banbury.
Wroxton Abbey is a place of great history with an aura of learning in its stones.
Reaching us by road Exit M40 at junction 11 signed A422 Banbury Straight on at the next five islands (all signed Wroxton) At the sixth island turn right (signed A422 Drayton, Wroxton) Straight on through Drayton village into Wroxton.
That's what we were eager to learn when in January 2003 we held our first ten-day residency at Fairleigh Dickinson's English campus, Wroxton College, housed in Wroxton Abbey, named for its twelfth-century origins as a monastery that fell into disrepair after Henry VIII's 1536 dissolution.
Though all readings had been scheduled for the elegant Regency Room on the Abbey's second level, they were moved to the more intimate, causal Buttery, a room in the Carriage House, a separate building, with pub-like booths and stools and dozens of American college pennants pinned to the walls.
A path circles the 56 acres of Abbey land, most of it in a treed natural state, out past the Great Pond and the Grand Castle, a small not-so-Grand Cascade, and back to the expanse of manicured lawn.
Colour Print - Wroxton Abbey, near Banbury, Oxfordshire.
Title: Colour Print - Wroxton Abbey, near Banbury, Oxfordshire.
An original 1860 colour print measuring 8 x 10.5 inches (image 5 x 7.5 inches), from Morris' work ''A Series of Picturesque Views of Seats of the Noblemen & Gentlemen of Great Britain and Ireland'', together with the accompanying two page text.
And, of course, there were the frequent travels of our wresident wine steward Eldon Eisenach (now a wregular Wroxton wrepeater) who became so familiar to the wine shop in Banbury that he received discounts as soon as he entered the store.
Our Wroxton hosts responded by adding an additional theatre event in Stratford, a mystery dinner production at the Abbey, and moved the medieval banquet (and costumes) to the Abbey.
And then, who of the Wroxton Wrogues could forget our Medieval Banquet and the spritely presence of James P. Ronda, the H.G. Barnard jester of Coombe Abbey in Coventry; or Jacob Howland as the coy wench with the especially prepared support garment now housed as a Wroxton museum piece.
My generally awesome first impression of Wroxton Abbey was tied up for good the following morning, when I explored the basement and discovered the computer room and free Internet use.
When Dr. [Nicholas] Baldwin [director of Wroxton College] gives the guided tour of the Abbey, he will tell you that this window is “painted” glass, not stained glass, and is extremely valuable.
The two most important things you will learn at Wroxton are the concept of BST, Baldwin Standard Time, and the immeasurable importance of the “rack.” Baldwin Standard Time simply means that everything at Wroxton occurs precisely at the time it is scheduled.
Wroxton is now an up-market dormitory suburb of Banbury: no wonder with all those indecently picturesque Cotswold brown-stone cottages, and the barn conversions too.
Wroxton village school had been built into a bank in the centre of the village, The classroom windows were high in the walls, at the same level as the playground, which had also been dug out, but at a higher level.
Shortly before Dad died in January 1964, Mother tried to record some of his early memories of Wroxton and the Abbey as they were in his early years.
Shelf No,TITLE,AUTHOR,Published,Edition,L or R,Category C/SBK, CHURCH AND SMALL BOOKLETS,,,,,C/SBK K511,Abingdon - The Historic Town,"RODWELL, K. (ed.)",1975,,L,C/SBK T102,"Abingdon, St Helens Church",,1962,,L,C/SBK T1115,All Saints Wroxton Guide,PCC,1992,,L,C/SBK T10/08,All Souls College Oxford,All Souls College,,,L,C/SBK T10/01,Appleford.
Home to Fairleigh Dickenson’s Wroxton College, Wroxton Abbey is a modernized, 17th century Jacobean manor house built on the foundations of a 13th century Augustinian priory.
In addition, there are 45 bedrooms (each with private bath), seminar rooms, offices, basement recreation rooms, and a reception area.
The abbey boasts a great hall, minstrels’ gallery, chapel, multi-room library, and royal bedrooms.
