Founded as a Cistercian monastery in 1150 and once the largest and most influential religious house in Warwickshire, Coombe Abbey has spent its long life moving between sacred, aristocratic and public uses. After the dissolution of the monasteries in 1539 its church was pulled down, and in 1581 Sir John Harington converted the surviving buildings into one of the grandest houses in the county. The estate was acquired by the Craven family in 1622 and remained with them for more than three hundred years. In 1771 the sixth Baron Craven commissioned Lancelot "Capability" Brown to redesign the grounds, sweeping away the formal gardens to create the serpentine lake and naturalistic parkland still seen today, while in the 1860s William Eden Nesfield carried out major Gothic Revival alterations to the house. The abbey holds a notable place in royal and Jacobean history, having served as the childhood home of Princess Elizabeth, daughter of James I, who was educated here; the Gunpowder Plot conspirators schemed to kidnap her from the house during their plans of 1605. These associations give the building a rich historical character that it trades on to this day. Coventry City Council bought the abbey and 150 acres of surrounding land in 1964, opening the country park to the public in 1966, and the main building reopened as a hotel in 1995. It now offers period bedchambers, fine dining and its well-known medieval banquets, hosted in a banqueting suite created from the former stables, alongside weddings and corporate events. Set within Coombe Country Park on the edge of Coventry, with woodland, ornamental gardens and the Capability Brown lake on its doorstep, the Grade I-listed hotel pairs heritage accommodation with extensive parkland. The combination of a thousand years of history, landscaped grounds and a full events operation has made Coombe Abbey one of Warwickshire's most distinctive destinations.

Type: Hotel / Resort

Address: Coombe Country Park, Brinklow Road, Binley, Coventry, United Kingdom

Website: https://www.coombeabbey.com

Opening Date: 01/01/1150

Serves Food