Syon Park - Brentford
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Described by Sir John Betjeman as 'the Grand Architectural Walk', Syon House and its 200 acre park is the London home of the Duke of Northumberland, whose family have lived here for over 400 years. Originally the site of a medieval abbey, Syon was named after Mount Zion in the Holy Land. The abbey was dedicated to the Bridgettine Order, established in the 14th century by the great Swedish mystic St Bridget. One of the last great abbeys to be built (founded by King Henry V in 1415), Syon was dissolved by King Henry VIII in 1539. Syon Abbey had become renowned for its spiritual learning, public preaching and library. It was favoured and visited by King Henry VIII’s first wife, Catherine of Aragon but it got embroiled in the religious turmoil of the King’s divorce and his subsequent action of making himself Supreme Head of the Church in England. The Father Confessor, of the nuns, Richard Reynolds, could not accept the King’s supremacy and was brutally executed in 1535, his body placed on the abbey gateway. He was later canonised as a martyr. Syon House: Open from 18 March to 31 October 2009 inclusive - Wednesdays, Thursdays, Sundays & Bank Holiday Mondays (also Good Friday and Easter Saturday) - 11.00 to 17.00 hours (last entry 16.00 hours) Gardens: November 2008 to February 2009 open daily - 10.30 to 16.00 hours March to October 2009 open daily - 10.30 to 17.00 hours (or dusk if earlier) Please note: Last admission is one hour before closing. In severe weather conditions, the Gardens may be closed to visitors for safety reasons. The Refectory (entrance through the Wyevale Garden Centre, and connecting door from Syon Gardens): Open daily for snacks, drinks & light lunches | |||||||||||||||||||