Abbey House Hotel, Westmorland and Furness

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What is recorded here

Edwin Lutyens designed Abbey House for the Vickers company as a guest house and a home for its managing director, Sir James McKechnie. Completed in 1914, it later became a neglected older people's home before restoration from 1984 gave it lasting use as a hotel.

Why it was built

Vickers wanted a company guest house beside Furness Abbey and a private flat for managing director Sir James McKechnie. The nearby medieval ruins gave the new house its name.

People and work

Architect Edwin Lutyens designed the mansion on an H-shaped plan, using a strong modern version of buildings from Elizabeth I's time that anticipated his later Castle Drogo.

How it changed

The county council bought Abbey House and converted it to an older people's home in 1951. Long neglect followed, but a private buyer restored it as a hotel after 1984.

What survives

The 1914 mansion now forms the centre of a four-star hotel within fourteen acres of gardens. A large extension added more space during the early 2000s.

Why it mattered

Abbey House is a major early twentieth-century work by Lutyens and an important step towards the powerful old-castle style he later used at Castle Drogo.