Nashdom

Nashdom stands in Burnham, Buckinghamshire, on a steeply sloping site. Edwin Lutyens designed the house in Neo-Georgian style for Prince Alexis and Princess Dolgorouki. The entrance front faces the road with a Doric colonnade and semicircular courtyard. The garden front opens onto terraces, bow windows and a circular drawing room. A glass-domed Winter Garden and a dining room follow along the facade. The house once included a wind dial on the landing connected to a roof weathervane. The Anglican Benedictine community from Caldey Abbey bought Nashdom in 1924. Gregory Dix, a liturgical scholar, joined the community in 1926 and later became prior. Anselm Hughes served as director of music and later prior until 1945. The abbey trained American Episcopalians who founded St Gregory’s Priory in Indiana. The monks left Nashdom in 1987 for Elmore Abbey near Newbury. Today Nashdom is an apartment complex with 15 homes. The Grade II listed gardens cover four hectares, shaped like a long triangle. A massive retaining wall and stone stairway lead down from the main lawn. A rose garden, woodland and abbey cemetery lie among the trees. Lutyens-designed features such as the rose garden wall and gatehouse remain. The wind dial from the landing and a bust of Princess Dolgorouki were preserved in the conversion.