Westbury Arts Centre - History Tours

Westbury was already ancient when the Normans passed through in 1066 and gave the manor house here to a Norman knight – called Engaine, after which one of the main roads in Shenley Church End is named. Once a moated manor, it was a home until the 17th century, at about the time our famous Armada Door was installed. Tenanted from then until the 1950s by a succession of farmers through Victorian times and then, in the1950s becoming part of the hunting landscape of the Whaddon Hunt, it finally returned into private hands.
This family enlarged Westbury in the 1960s only to see the property bought up by the land-grab of the New Town, and it remains today under the ownership of the council, home to a diverse and changing group of artists and open to the public most of the year for arts education and more.
From the Romans and Saxons who knew the earliest Westbury through to the massive changes following the Norman Conquest and the medieval period; through the turbulent times of Elizabeth and the Spanish Armada, Westbury was an important place in the area.
Then came the years of decline and Westbury became a backwater, a tenanted farm that lived a poor existence until in the 1950s it returned to private hands as a family who were part of the Whaddon Hunt set bought it, extended it and built a swimming pool. But then came the New City…
It’s a fascinating story. Join us for a hour’s journey through time, and - weather permitting – the grounds of this unique place.

Timings & Tours

Saturday 20 September:

Tours at 1100 & 1400

Sunday 21 September:

Tours at 1100 & 1400

Location & directions

Westbury Arts Centre, Foxcovert Road, Shenley Wood, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, MK5 6AA

Directions:

Off the H6 Childs Way near NiftyLift

Contact on day:

Westbury Arts Centre

Telephone number:

+441908501214

Booking information

Pre-booking requirement:

Pre-booking not required

Accessibility details

Please Park in the public carpark in Merlewood Avenue and walk across the road to Westbury. Parking can be tight on the site.

Additional information

Refreshments will be available on site; please see separate entries for other events and activities taking place at Westbury Arts Centre.

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