The Wilberforce Memorial

Scroll Down

On 19 July 1873 Samuel Wilberforce, ‘Soapy Sam’ the Bishop of Winchester, had a tragic accident on the Abinger Roughs. His family erected a granite memorial on the spot where he fell, and you can see this Grade II listed monument near Leasers Barn.

The Roughs was formerly part of the Abinger Hall Estate. In the late 19th century the land was planted with specimen trees, plantations and rhododendrons to form open glades with interlinking paths; a wilderness garden. It was created by Thomas Henry Farrer of Abinger Hall, and you can still see some of the original garden today.