Now part museum, part house, Buckland Abbey was built over 700 years ago as a Cistercian monastery. A wonderful place to visit at any time of year, at Christmas time, the abbey transforms into a decorated Tudor home while the Great Barn is filled with a forest of Christmas trees.
Festivities kick off in November with the Winter Food and Craft Fair. Numerous stalls display produce and crafts from local suppliers, and there really is something for everyone. Lunches, snacks and drinks are available from the Buckland Café, and there is also a hog roast on site.
Once December arrives, the house is decorated with traditional materials. A particular highlight is the cascade of 700 decorations, hand-made by the volunteer costume group, that winds its way down the Georgian staircase. Many of the individual pieces that make up this garland have been meticulously researched, so that they are authentic replicas of period pieces. Fireplaces and stairways throughout the house are decorated with seasonal floral displays. The top floor of the abbey houses a collection of Christmas trees decorated by local Girl Guide groups, along with a special tree that depicts the importance of the river Tavy to the Buckland estate.
Music lovers will also be kept entertained. The Great Hall hosts a performance of Elizabethan dancing by the Renaissance Historical Dancing Society, and you will be transported back in time with this display of historically-accurate festive masked dancing, complete with intricate costumes. In addition, on every weekend in December, local choirs, musicians and singing groups perform festive tunes around the large Christmas tree in the Great Barn.
The medieval Great Barn was originally a tithe barn, and has changed little since it was first built. At Christmas time, it becomes home to a forest of Christmas trees, each one individually decorated, that lead to the large Buckland estate tree. At first glance, the way through the trees looks like just a path but it is actually designed to be a River of Light, made up of hundreds of twinkling blue-toned beams. Visitors feel like they are walking through a river, and you may even spot the odd fish on the walls of the barn! The River of Light is designed to highlight the importance of rivers, not only to the people who have lived and worked at the estate over the years, but also for us in the present day.
No Christmas visit would be complete without an appearance by Santa, and Olde Father Christmas, dressed in his traditional green robes (rather than the red ones introduced more recently by a certain soft drinks company!), greets visiting children in the abbey kitchen. Little ones can also enjoy a series of adventures on Percy the Park Keeper’s Winter Wander trail, which explores the gardens around the house, and help Percy and his animal friends get ready for winter.
Celebrations are rounded off with a traditional New Year’s Wassail to wake the trees from their winter slumber. Before the wassailing, a mummer’s play is performed in the Great Barn. Mumming, which means ‘making a diversion in disguise’, is an ancient custom in which the performers put on a play with a silly plot, while wearing ridiculous costumes. The event, performed by the Dartmoor Border Morris group, also involves lots of dancing. After the play, the focus moves to the orchard where hopes for a bountiful harvest are celebrated by making offerings to the trees in the form of cider toasts. Waking the trees involves making as much noise as possible with pots, pans and anything else to hand, thus chasing away bad luck and ensuring a good crop in the year to come.
