PLACE NAME
Buckland Abbey in Devon was founded as a Cistercian monastery in 1278 by Amicia, Countess of Devon. After the dissolution of the monasteries, some 250 years later, during which many of its buildings were destroyed, it was sold to Sir Richard Greville, the former Marshal of Calais, who intended to convert it into a house for his son Sir Roger Greynvile renaming it Buckland Greynvile. Though Sir Roger did not live long enough to enjoy it, he died aboard the Mary Rose when it sank in Portsmouth Harbour in 1545. The works were completed by his grandson, Sir Richard Greville the Younger, who converted the abbey church, which had been protected during the dissolution, into a house instead. Not long after, when he came to sell the property, he was duped into selling to his arch-enemy Sir Francis Drake, whose pockets having been lined by Queen Elizabeth I, was buying up property in the area. The National Trust acquired the property in 1948. Like many of the roads on the St Helier’s estate this is named after British monasteries and abbeys in remembrance of the area’s historic ownership by Westminster Abbey. The road names are in alphabetical order, of which Aberconway Road in the north west of the estate is first.
