Woburn Abbey

And it was for a marketing manager for Woburn.

So Woburn Abbey and Woburn Safari Park.

And I thought, well, I know absolutely nothing about historic houses.

I do have an A-level in history, though.

So I applied for it and completely forgot about it because I thought there was no chance in the world I would ever get that job.

And bizarrely, I did.

And the rationale was that Lady Tavistock, who was the doyen of Woburn Abbey at the time, her specific criteria for the recruitment was that they did not have a previous experience in another historic house or a zoo or safari park.

So they came into it with a fresh mind.

Every bedroom, several of us to each, had a bathroom, and the grounds with their gazebo and lake were a joy.

Some of my friends were billeted in Woburn Abbey, in the top floor servants' rooms.

I believe it was very cold in winter.

I can't recall the food on duty at Bletchley Park.

When these wrens start to arrive in larger numbers, and when they have more machines than they can house at Bletchley Park, they start to requisition properties in the area.

And some of these become bomb outstations, and some of them just become accommodation or wreneries, as they tend to be known.

And the most famous is Woburn Abbey, which is the seat of the Dukes of Bedford, who apparently handed it over to the Navy because he basically trusted them to look after it better than anyone else.

You knew it was going to get requisitioned by somebody, so let the navy have it.

But Bedfordshire does have two very fine stately homes.

There's Rest Park to the south and in the far west of the county there's Woburn Abbey and the Flying Duchess lived at Woburn Abbey in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

At some point in the future I would love to cover an episode all about Woburn.

It's history and ghost lore as well as stories of the safari park there, but that will have to wait for another time.

I'm going to wait until the Abbey reopens after extensive renovation work, then I'll visit and I'll do the place justice.

So today I am going to tell you about the mystery surrounding just one of the duchesses who lived at Woburn Abbey, the Flying Duchess, and her last flight.

And yes, there are even two ghost stories also attached to her, which I will share.

The Abbey Story.

Mm.

One of my ex-students, uh, Martin Towsey, is in charge of everything at Woburn Abbey.

So, you know, there, there's lots of really good jobs that you can get-

Mm