Through the Keyhole Tours 2008

The Leather Room within the
Jacobean House

The Jacobean House forms part of the original twelfth century Cistercian Abbey building, which was later transformed into a substantial Tudor house. Entrance to the house is via the Long Gallery, the original South Aisle of the Abbey church. The walls of the Leather Room are oak panelled with mullion windows, typical of Tudor domestic architecture. The main feature of the room, and what gives it its name, is the sixteenth century leather wall covering on two walls. The coverings are Spanish, made in Cordoba, and are thought to have been brought back by Thomas Leigh 1st when travelling on business. Originally there were thirty-six panels of which thirty-two still remain.

The Undercroft

Along with the Gatehouse the vaulted Undercroft is the most complete survival of monastic architecture at Stoneleigh. Located at the southern end of the east range of buildings, it was converted into a dwelling after the Dissolution by the Leigh family. It is a magnificent sixty-three feet long, stone vaulted room which now forms the ground floor of a private residence. Parts of the exterior shell are from the original monastic building. The interior, with its rib vaulting and central row of four octagonal piers is thought to date from a complete interior reconstruction which took place during the thirteenth century.