Ashridge
Ashridge | ||
---|---|---|
OS grid reference SP975135 | | |
Area | Hertfordshire | |
Built | 1808–1814 | |
Owner |
| |
Listed Building – Grade I | ||
Official name | Ashridge House, including raised terrace, walls and steps to east and south, and iron railings to north | |
Designated | 14 May 1952 | |
Reference no. | 1348442 | |
Ashridge is a
Today, Ashridge is home to Hult Ashridge, Hult International Business School's executive education programme, as it has been since 1959. The estate is currently owned by the National Trust.
History
Ashridge Priory
In mediæval times Ashridge was the location of
The Egerton family
In 1604 the estate became the property of
In 1848 the estate passed to the Earls Brownlow, another strand of the Egerton family,[6] and then in 1921 it was split, with the land passing to the National Trust, while the house and garden was acquired by speculators.[7]
Conservative Staff College
In 1928
(a) honouring the memory of a great statesman, (b) the preservation of the house and grounds as an historic building, (c) to create an educational centre ... (d) to train lecturers, speakers and writers to further the study of the subjects outlined above (e) ... provide lectures and/or discussions on these subjects open to the public or for those who had paid fees to attend, (f) ... provide a supporting staff, (g) to allow boarding by those attending the lectures and discussions.[9]
For the next fifteen years the college, the full title of which was the Bonar Law Memorial College, Ashridge was to act as a school for Conservative intellectuals creating, in their own words, 'Conservative Fabians', and as a 'College of Citizenship' for 'the general education of the electorate'. Associated with the College were regional or county circles or clubs, such the Ashridge Dining Club in London; their activities were reported by The Ashridge Journal.[10] In 1954 its Deed of Foundation was changed by Act of Parliament, and Ashridge was 're-founded' as an educational charity. In 1959 it became a Management College, which it remains today.[11]
Hult International Business School
In 1959 Ashridge College was re-launched to provide management training, and was named
Estate
Ashridge House
Prior to his death, the 3rd Duke of Bridgewater had begun to demolish the
In 1813, part-way through the construction works, Wyatt died unexpectedly, and the building project was completed the following year by his nephew Jeffry Wyatt (later known as Sir Jeffry Wyatville).[15] The present house is regarded as one of the finest examples of early Gothic Revival architecture and is now a Grade I listed building.[16][17][18]
Ashridge house was built on the site of the 13th-Century priory building which had been demolished in 1800. Some parts of the old priory were incorporated into the house by James Wyatt, including the undercroft of the monastic refectory, featuring two aisles, seven bays and a rib-vaulted ceiling, which he repurposed as a beer cellar below the dining room and drawing room.[19]
The mansion is built of
Inside the mansion are a number of richly decorated
The house incorporates a Gothic Revival Chapel designed by James Wyatt, completed by Jeffry Wyatt in 1817. The most notable exterior feature of the chapel is its
Gardens
Outside the house stands the
The gardens were laid out from 1813 onwards under the direction of
Bridgewater Monument
The Grade II* listed[26] Bridgewater Monument (grid reference SP970131) is a tower on the Ashridge estate, built in 1832 in memory of Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater (1736–1803), "the father of inland navigation".[27]
Ashridge Commons and Woods
Ashridge Commons & Woods (
Later developments
Part of the estate became Ashridge Golf Club in 1932, and had Henry Cotton as its club professional in the late 1930s, including his most successful year 1937.[30]
During the
The house has housed the
In popular culture
Ashridge Common has been featured many times in film and television series due to its distinction as an area of natural beauty. Scenes for
In early 2023, English singer-songwriter Sam Smith released a music video for his song I'm Not Here to Make Friends, almost entirely shot in and outside the property.[36]
References
- ^ "according to Tanner", from the Boni Homines article in the Catholic Encyclopedia
- ^ "Unearthing the past in Ashridge". Great British Life. 22 September 2011.
- ^ of Ashridge – Ashridge Business School, Accessed 17 June 2014
- ^ Sanecki, K. A. pg 25
- ^ Bridgewater Chapel at Little Gaddesden Church, accessed 24 July 2015
- ^ Sanecki, K. A. pg 6
- ^ a b Sanecki, K. A. pg 73
- ^ "Bonar Law College", Daily Herald, 2 July 1929 page 7
- S2CID 144485487.
- ^ "The London Ashridge 1937 Club". The Ashridge Journal: 45–46. Autumn 1937.
- ^ A glimpse at the archives of a Conservative intellectual project
- ^ "Rural Heritage Society". Archived from the original on 5 March 2012.
- ^ "Governance". Ashridge.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2 April 2016. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
- ^ Views of the Seats of Noblemen and Gentlemen, in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland; [Ser. 1-2]. Reid. 1829. p. 5.
- ^ Sanecki, K.A., pg 30
- ^ Historic Houses Association Archived 27 December 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b c Pevsner pp.238–240
- ^ Historic England. "Grade I (1348442)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
- ^ a b c d e Historic England. "Ashridge Management College (1348442)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
- ^ "Stained glass from Mariawald Abbey". Victoria and Albert Museum. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
- ^ Way 2013.
- ^ "Spring Newsletter 2018 and Annual Report" (PDF). Hertfordshire Gardens Trust. p. 13. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
- ^ Williamson 2020, p. 199.
- ^ "GC & HTJ". 196. Haymarket Publishing. 1984: 13.
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(help) - ^ "The Garden". Ashridge Hult. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
- ^ Historic England. "Grade II* (1078046)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
- ^ Duke of Bridgewater Monument at Ashridge Estate[permanent dead link] Visit East of England
- ^ "Ashridge Commons and Woods" (PDF). English Nature. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 March 2009. Retrieved 24 February 2008.
- ^ "Ashridge lavender forest". BT Images. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
- ^ "Home :: Ashridge Golf Club". www.ashridgegolfclub.ltd.uk.
- ^ "WW2 People's War".
- ^ "History and Heritage". Ashridge College. Archived from the original on 23 December 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
- ^ "Special trees and woods – Frithsden Beeches". Chilterns Conservation Board. Archived from the original on 13 June 2011. Retrieved 16 February 2010.
- ^ "The Dirty Dozen (1967) - IMDb" – via www.imdb.com.
- ^ Lewis, Katy (28 December 2022). "Ashridge House: How the former home of Henry VIII is branching out". BBC News. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
- ^ "Sam Smith music video filming nearly gives tourists 'heart attack'". International News. 10 December 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
Sources
- Pevsner, Pevsner (2002). Cherry, Bridget (ed.). Hertfordshire (2nd ed.). New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300096118.
- Sanecki, Kay (1996). Ashridge – A Living History. Phillimore. ISBN 978-1-86077-020-3.
- Way, Dr Twigs (2013). Virgins, Weeders and Queens. History Press. ISBN 978-0-7524-9578-1. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
- Williamson, Tom (2020). Humphry Repton : landscape design in an age of revolution. London. ISBN 9781789143003. Retrieved 13 March 2020.)
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Further reading
- "Ashridge Management College, Little Gaddesden". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
- Berthezène, Clarisse (2015). Training minds for the war of ideas. Ashridge College, the Conservative Party and the cultural politics of Britain, 1929-54. Manchester: Manchester University Press. ISBN 978-0-7190-8649-6.
- Coult, Douglas (1980). A Prospect of Ashridge. Chichester: Phillimore. ISBN 978-0-85033-360-2.