Missenden Abbey

The abbey of Missenden was founded c.1133, by William de Missenden, the lord of Missenden manor. Two of the abbey's foundation charters (those issued by King Henry I, and by Alexander, Bishop of Lincoln) state there were originally seven canons, who came to Missenden from "the church of St. Mary 'de Bosco (or de Nemore) de pago Terresino". Missenden thus became the home of the first abbey in Buckinghamshire and the second Arrouasian community in England, after Warter Abbey in East Yorkshire. The Arrouasian Order "never seem to have been really an independent order with special privileges", and thus often were not distinguished from canons of the Augustinian Order.

Like many other former monasteries, a country house was constructed on the site of the former abbey. Also known as "Missenden Abbey", the house was constructed in 1574, on the site of the former cloisters, and incorporating some of the monastic remains. The house was altered and remodeled in both the 17th and 18th centuries. Between 1806 and 1814, the house was remodeled in a "Regency Gothic" style, for John Ayton. The two storied house was built around a courtyard and featured "castellated parapets, corner turrets with arrow slits and conical caps."