The Duchess of Cleveland lived at Battle Abbey from 1857 to 1901. She did much to establish the abbey as a heritage site, including landscaping the gardens, opening the abbey to tourists and attempting (sometimes haplessly) to manage the early days of the ‘visitor experience'.

The tour will include a glimpse of some of the Duchess’s favourite garden features and will try to go beyond a straightforward biography to find some broader contextual connections and to make a rounded and dynamic 'Portrait of a Lady'.

This tour is graded as moderate access, as it involves navigating uneven terrain, some stairs and steps, and will have few places to stop and sit down.