ent history of the Abbey and see how it
has been transformed from its original state to what it now is by
successive occupants, and especially by the eccentric fifth Duke.

About the twelfth century a new religious order of monks came to settle
in England. They were called Premonstratensians, and wore white cassocks
and caps, by which they were known as white canons as distinguishing
them from black canons, attired in more sombre garb. About 1140, one
Thomas de Cuckney founded the Abbey at Welbeck, which was to become an
important centre for the Order, as in 1515 there were no fewer than 35
Premonstratensian monasteries in England, all subordinate in importance
to Welbeck.

Thomas de Cuckney was a _vir bellicosus_, and having built a castle at
Cuckney, was a formidable subject during the troublous times of King
Stephen's reign. John Hotham, Bishop of Ely, obtained possession of the
Manor of Cuckney in the 14th century, and devoted its revenues to the
Abbey, with an addition of eight canons to be supported from its wealth.

Then came the edict of Henry VIII., which suppressed monasteries as
being detrimental to the State. The abbots and their canons were
dispersed, and their lands and property given to royal favourites.
Richard Whalley obtained a grant of Welbeck from the King about 1539,
and in succeeding generations others who held it were Osborne, Booth and
Catterall, till it was purchased by Sir Charles Cavendish.

This was at the beginning of the reign of James I., and Cavendish
inheriting the predilections of his mother, Bess of Hardwick, set to
work pulling down the old walls and transforming a house of religion
into one for the pleasure of the Dukes that were to come of his family.
In 1619, King James paid a visit to Welbeck, and Charles I. was
entertained there, when "there was such excess in feasting as had
scarcely ever been known in England," and Ben Jonson was present at the
invitation of the Duke to enliven the festivities with his wit.

The main portions of the abbey and the abbey church became merged in the
new structure; but there are legendary stories that the bodies of the
Cuckneys and the abbots remain entombed upon the site, and that their
stone coffins form part of massive walls and hidden foundations.

The remains of the ancient Abbey of St. James have been carefully
preserved, and the arched ceilings of two or three apartments are
interesting examples of the Gothic period. The Servants' Hall