Stoneleigh Abbey a stately home with landscaped parkland visted by Jane Austen .; Shutterstock ID 81762157; Your name (First / Last): Emma Sparks; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Online Editorial; Full Product or Project name including edition: Best in Europe POI updates

Shutterstock / Gail Johnson

Stoneleigh Abbey


The kind of stately home that makes film directors go weak at the knees, Stoneleigh name-drops Charles I and Jane Austen among its past visitors. Completed in 1726 and only viewable on tours (included in admission), the splendid Palladian west wing contains richly detailed plasterwork ceilings and wood-panelled rooms. A 'reflecting lake' effect is created by the widened stretch of the River Avon, which runs through the grounds. It's 2 miles east of Kenilworth.

The original abbey was founded by Cistercian monks in 1154, though little remains except the 14th-century gatehouse; the house was built on the site of the monastery by the wealthy Leigh family (distant cousins of the Austens) in the 16th century.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Kenilworth Castle

2.51 MILES

This spine-tingling ruin sprawls among fields and hedges on Kenilworth's outskirts. Built in the 1120s, the castle survived the longest siege in English…

2. Collegiate Church of St Mary

4.54 MILES

This magnificent 1123-founded Norman church was badly damaged in the Great Fire of Warwick in 1694, but is packed with 16th- and 17th-century tombs…

3. Market Hall Museum

4.61 MILES

Housed in Warwick's striking 17th-century market hall, this museum has some entertaining displays on local history and the Warwick sea dragons (Jurassic…

4. Warwick Castle

4.68 MILES

Founded in 1068 by William the Conqueror, stunningly preserved Warwick Castle is Warwick's main attraction.

5. Lord Leycester Hospital

4.72 MILES

A survivor of the 1694 fire, the wonderfully wonky Lord Leycester Hospital has been used as a retirement home for soldiers (but never as a hospital) since…

6. St Mary's Guildhall

4.9 MILES

One of the most evocative insights into pre-WWII Coventry is this half-timbered and brick hall where the town's trades came together in the Middle Ages to…

7. Herbert Art Gallery & Museum

4.9 MILES

Behind Coventry's twin cathedrals, the Herbert has an eclectic collection of paintings and sculptures (including work by TS Lowry, Stanley Spencer and…

8. Coventry Cathedral

4.94 MILES

The evocative ruins of St Michael's Cathedral, built around 1300 but destroyed by Nazi incendiary bombs in the Blitz, stand as a memorial to Coventry's…