Mansion House

A photograph from the collection held at Buckfast Abbey of the Mansion House. The original monastery at Buckfast was founded in 1018 and became a Cistercian abbey in 1147. When the present monks returned to Buckfast in 1882, they were able to uncover almost all of the original foundations dating back to this period, and rebuild the Abbey in the architectural style of the mid-twelfth century - effectively restoring the original Cistercian abbey. The ruins of the former abbey remained evident until the site was bought by Samuel Berry in 1800. He flattened the abbey church to make way for a Gothic mansion with castellations which had been completed by about 1806.