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A small village with many
listed buildings, Woburn is best known for its
great house, Woburn Abbey, ancestral seat of the
Dukes of Bedford. Woburn’s vast park - landscaped
by Humphry Repton – has been transformed into
Woburn Safari Park, a process that began with the
11th Duke who was determined to save the
endangered Pere David’s deer. Following World War
II, the 13th Duke opened his property to the
public before creating the first drive-through
wildlife park in Britain.
Woburn
Abbey was founded in 1145 but was granted to the
Russell family by Henry VIII at the dissolution of
the monasteries. The present house was rebuilt in
the mid 18th century and contains a wealth of
important paintings.
Near
the village is Abbot’s Oak; it was from its
branches that the Abbot of Woburn was hanged by
Henry VIII.
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