Pictures of England

Search:

Historic Towns & Picturesque Villages

Pictures of St Michael's Abbey

a Abbey in the town of Farnborough, in the county of Hampshire

About St Michael's Abbey

ST. Michael's Abbey is a beautiful Abbey Church built in the peace and tranquillity of the English countryside by the French Empress Eugenie, following the exile to England of the Emperor Napoleon III and his family in 1871. It was built as a loving tribute to the memory of her husband, both Eugenie, Napoleon and their son the Prince Imperial are buried in the crypt.

Eugenie lies buried on a shelf above the alter, as a sign of her association with a lay order she was accorded the privilege of being laid to rest dressed as a nun, whilst Napoleon is buried in British Military uniform. The Prince Imperial died as a British soldier during the Boer War. The tombs in which the Imperial family lie were in the Royal gift of Queen Victoria. The crypt is entirely peaceful as befits the wish of the Empress that her family should rest in a place of prayer and silence.

St.Michael's Abbey Church was to a design by noted French architect Gabriel Hippolyte-Alexander Destailler and is essentially very French and exquisitely ornate. It is thought that Destailler modelled it on various churches throughout the Loire region of France.

The Abbey is a wonderful place to visit, guided tours are available of the church and crypt each Saturday at 3.30.p.m.

St.Michael's Abbey is located at Farnborough, N.W. of Guildford.

Share the beauty of England..

Recommended towns & villages near St Michael's Abbey

St Michael's Abbey, Farnborough

Farnborough (63 Pictures)

in the county of Hampshire

(0.7 miles, 1.1 km)

This town is listed in the Doomsday Book of 1086, then it was a mere settlement which over the passing centuries developed into a village...

St Andrew's Church, Farnham, Surrey

Farnham (35 Pictures)

a Historic Market Town in the county of Surrey

(6.1 miles, 9.8 km, direction S)

It was King Caedwalla of Wessex who, in 688 bestowed the Manor of Farnham on the Bishop's of Winchester...

Guildford Cathedral

Guildford (173 Pictures)

in the county of Surrey

(8.7 miles, 14.1 km, direction SE)

It has a High Street of mellow Georgian buildings, and despite changing times Guildford is a town that has managed to maintain its charm and character...

The Castle

Windsor (232 Pictures)

in the county of Berkshire

(14.1 miles, 22.7 km, direction NE)

Windsor, or rather Royal Windsor, is a seductive mix of history and romance with a unique atmosphere. It is a place where the sense of history is never far away, it is a town.....

Sonning on Thames

Sonning on Thames (14 Pictures)

a Picturesque Village in the county of Berkshire

(14.2 miles, 22.9 km, direction NW)

"the most fairy-like little nook on the whole river". - Jerome K. Jerome..

All towns in Hampshire
Complete A to Z of towns in England

Recommended attractions near St Michael's Abbey

View from the Hog's Back, Near Guildford, Surrey

Hog's Back (2 Pictures)

(4.9 miles, 7.9 km, direction S)

..

Guildford Cathedral. Guildford, Surrey

Guildford Cathedral (6 Pictures)

(7.8 miles, 12.5 km, direction SE)

This great Surrey cathedral is one of the few churches to come out of the 20th-century. Its design by Sir Edward Maufe had been.....

Scene in the walled garden

Loseley House (14 Pictures)

(8.3 miles, 13.3 km, direction SE)

This lovely gabled Elizabethan house, built of a greenish-grey ragstone from the ruins of nearby Waverley Abbey, was built around.....

From a distance (Guildford Castle)

Guildford Castle (27 Pictures)

(9.2 miles, 14.7 km, direction SE)

This is one of the few castles that the French did manage to capture. It was one of three English castle's taken by the Dauphin.....

Wellington Country Park, Hampshire

Wellington Country Park (1 Pictures)

(9.7 miles, 15.7 km, direction NW)

..


All attractions in Hampshire
Complete A to Z of attractions in England