Marie Potts

Most people can only dream of living somewhere like Buckland Abbey, but for Marie Potts it was her childhood home until she got married at twenty-two and had her wedding reception in the Great Hall. It was a very special and unique upbringing for both her and her sister, and Marie has recently recorded all the details in a book entitled 'An Abbey Childhood'.

Buckland Abbey was presented to the National Trust and Plymouth Corporation in 1948 by Arthur Rodd which led to the creation of the Buckland Abbey Maritime Museum. Marie's father, Alex Cumming, was the curator of the Plymouth Museum and Art Museum at that time and was instrumental in setting up the new museum and acquiring artefacts for it, including Drake's Drum. In 1951 he and his family moved into a flat in the centre of Buckland Abbey so that he could oversee the museum, and Marie and Helen realised they could enjoy free run of the Abbey and grounds outside of visiting hours; they played in the carriages in the Tithe Barn pretending to be Cinderella and as they grew older they celebrated birthday parties in the Great Hall.

During the summer holidays at peak visiting time Marie remembers being banished from the Abbey and spending a lot of time at Place Barton Farm next-door; their garden swings were rolled up into the trees out of sight and they had to keep their bedroom doors locked as they were accessed from a public corridor. However they also had the advantage of an enormous playroom in the tower, providing them with a wet-weather sanctuary as well as a superb vantage point for watching all the visitors milling round the Abbey.

Lord Mountbatten opened Buckland Abbey to the public in 1951 and as one of the region's newest tourist venues it attracted a great deal of visitors including many dignitaries and several members of the royal family.  Marie's father usually gave them a guided tour and then guests were invited back to the flat, where Marie and Helen handed round biscuits wearing their best frocks. Lord and Lady Astor were regular visitors and a particular favourite with the girls as Lady Astor always kept a bag of humbugs for such occasions. Marie soon realised that these visits made excellent  'gold star' subject matter for school essays. Unfortunately she got caught out when she ran out of actual material and fabricated one such royal visit for her composition!

Once she was married, Marie left Buckland Abbey and dedicated her time to her family and working with pre-school nursery children. It wasn't really until her parents left Buckland Abbey that she realised that the door had closed on a very special part of her life.

Eventually Marie decided to write a book about her time at Buckland Abbey so that her family could understand what an amazing childhood she’d had and what a privilege it had been to grow up at the Abbey.