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Mottisfont Abbey is a historical priory and country estate in Hampshire, England. Sheltered in the valley of the River Test, the property is now operated by the National Trust. 393,250 people visited the site in 2019. The site includes the historic house museum which features regularly changing art exhibitions, gardens, including a walled rose garden which is home to the National Plant Collection of ancestral rose species and 19th-century rose cultivars,Stone, D. (2008). Pruning Roses. In: The National Trust, ed., Gardening Secrets from National Trust Head Gardeners (pp. 49-52). London: National Trust Books. . and a riverside walk. It is a Grade I listed building.
Struck by the Black Death, the initially prosperous priory suffered from the mid-14th century onwards. Its landholdings included the church at Berwick St James, Wiltshire.
In the 18th century, the old monastic cloisters and Tudor courtyard were demolished by the Mill family, creating the modern appearance of the house's facade. It was at this time that the owners added "Abbey" to the name of the house rather than the more historically correct "Priory". The National Trust speculates that the name was considered to be more romantic. Under Sir John Barker-Mill, in the early 19th century, the estate became a centre for hunting, shooting and fishing, and a new stable block was built. The last decades of the 19th century saw Mottisfont let to wealthy banker Daniel Meinertzhagen under eccentric terms that forbade the installation of electric light or central heating. The ten Meinertzhagen children included Daniel and Richard, who built Aviary for their collection of , , and . Richard wrote detailed diaries about his childhood and growing interest in the natural world.
During World War II, Mottisfont was commandeered as a hospital with 80 beds.
Maud Russell gave the house and grounds to the National Trust in 1957, although continuing to live there until 1972. One of the artists who had visited regularly was Derek Hill, a society portrait painter who had a private passion for landscape painting, and who collected work by his contemporaries. He donated a substantial collection of early 20th-century art to the National Trust to be shown at Mottisfont, in memory of his long friendship with Maud Russell. Today, these works are joined by a changing programme of temporary exhibitions of 20th-century and contemporary art.
Mottisford is home to the Plant Heritage National Plant Collection Rosa (pre-1900 shrub rose). The roses reach their peak in June and are scented, particularly on early summer evenings.
In the summer months there are often theatre productions outside, and at different times of the year there are specific trails, mainly but not exclusively aimed at children, for example at Easter, Halloween, Christmas etc.
Refreshments are sold at several points and there is a modern National Trust shop, ice cream parlour and exhibition space. A new Visitor Centre was completed early in 2016. An environmentally friendly building, it is heated in winter months by a biomass boiler burning wood-chips from the estate.
From The Test Way, which passes through Mottisfont and around the Abbey grounds, the main house is seen from the rear as you pass through fields along the northern boundary.
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