Robert Thomas Buttery, Fl. 1824-1865 A Prospect of the South Front of Newstead Abbey, Nottinghamshire, from the Park and Lake newstead Abbey indistinctly Signed oil on Canvas 50.80 X 76.20

Robert Thomas Buttery, Fl. 1824-1865

A Prospect of the South Front of Newstead Abbey, Nottinghamshire, from the Park and Lake

Newstead Abbey

indistinctly signed

oil on canvas

50.80 x 76.20

Engraved ,1827 William M Fellows after R T Buttery and published by R T Buttery. The Engraving is Lettered below with the title and a dedication to the present owner Lt Col. Wildman by the artist; with producer names "R T Buttery Pinxit / Mr W M Fellows sc." Along the bottom "Published as the Act Directs, by R.T.Buttery Nottingham, Feby. 26th 1827"

Notes

The 6th Lord Byron, the Poet sold Newstead Abbey to his old school friend at Harrow, Colonel Thomas Wildman in December 1817, the sale being ratified in 1818, thus breaking the continued ownership of Newstead by the Byron Family for the first time in 263 years. This was an end of an era and the start of a new era of building or virtually the complete rebuilding of Newstead, so that the house we see today is largely his creation. Wildman was well respected in Nottinghamshire during his residency in the county from 1817-1859. The Wildmans were originally from Lancashire . The Wildman family had obtained Quebec Estate, a large sugar plantation in Jamaica, from William Beckford, who was having financial problems. The wealth generated from this plantation provided Wildman with the means to purchase Newstead Abbey in 1818 for £95,000 from a Mr. Clawton, who had bought it of Lord Byron for £14,000. The Abbey was owned by his friend and old schoolmate, Lord Byron who, like Beckford, was having financial difficulties. Byron had been trying to sell the Abbey since 1812. Of the sale, Byron's half-sister Augusta said Wildman had "soul enough to value the dear Abbey..."

Although Wildman's purchase ended almost four centuries of Byron family ownership of the Abbey, he was considered to be the man who saved Byron's home. He spent £100,000 restoring it, hiring the architect John Shaw to make improvements. He also amassed a large collection of Byron memorabilia there. He served as High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire for 1821-22. The Wildmans entertained many guests who wished to visit the home of Lord Byron, including Franz Liszt and Washington Irving. The Duke of Sussex visited annually for a six-week holiday with his chaplain. After Wildman's death, Louisa sold the Abbey to William Frederick Webb. From 1817 onwards Wildman was deeply involved in the complete restoration of the Newstead. He was an amateur architect and 2 of his designs for the Abbey survive, one for the south staircase . He employed the architect John Shaw 1776-1832 to carry out the remodelling of the house. In the interior the medieval undercrofts and ground floor spaces were restored and brought into use. The upper floors were considerably altered , bathrooms , water closests and colsa oil lighting were all installed. For some , possibly all the interior decoration of the principle rooms the brilliant contemporary decorator Thomas Willement collaborated with Shaw.

Newstead Abbey

Newstead Abbey 02.jpg

Monastic foundation

The priory of St. Mary of Newstead, a house of Augustinian Canons, was founded by King Henry II of England about the year 1170,[1] as one of many penances he paid following the murder of Thomas Becket. Contrary to its current name, Newstead was never an abbey: it was a priory.

In the late 13th century, the priory was rebuilt and extended. It was extended again in the 15th-century, when the Dorter, Great Hall and Prior's Lodgings were added.The priory was designed to be home to at least 13 monks, although there appears to have been only 12 (including the Prior) at the time of the dissolution.

The Valor Ecclesiasticus of 1534 gave the clear annual value of this priory as £167 16s. 11½d. The considerable deductions included 20s. given to the poor on Maundy Thursday in commemoration o