Embroidery, guardian lion's detail. Calke Abbey, an English stately home in Derbyshire, now owned by the National Trust. Detail of the silk hangings of the 18th-century State Bed. Although it arrived at the house in 1734 as a wedding gift from the royal family, the bed was never slept in. It remained packed in a box until 1984.With peeling paintwork and overgrown courtyards Calke Abbey tells the story of the dramatic decline of a grand country-house estate. Set on the site of an Augustinian priory, Calke Abbey was never actually an Abbey. Founded in the early 12th century, Calke Abbey was established by Richard, 2nd Earl of Chester, a wealthy landowner.