Castle Ashby House
| Castle Ashby | |
|---|---|
 The façade of Castle Ashby | |
| Type | Prodigy house |
| Location | Castle Ashby, Northamptonshire |
| Coordinates | 52°13′28″N 0°44′19″W / 52.2245°N 0.7385°W |
| Built | 1574-c.1600 |
| Architectural style(s) | Elizabethan |
| Owner | Marquess of Northampton |
| Website | https://www.castleashbygardens.co.uk |
Listed Building – Grade I | |
| Official name | Castle Ashby |
| Designated | 3 May 1968 |
| Reference no. | 1371298 |
National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens | |
| Official name | Castle Ashby |
| Designated | 25 June 1984 |
| Reference no. | 1000385 |
.svg)  Location of Castle Ashby in Northamptonshire | |
Castle Ashby, often Castle Ashby House (to differentiate it from the parish) is a country house at Castle Ashby, Northamptonshire, England. It is one of the seats of the Marquess of Northampton. The house, church, formal gardens and landscaped park are Grade I listed.
The original
History
The present rebuilding of Castle Ashby was started by
The parapet of stone lettering around the top of the house is dated 1624, and its Latin inscription is:
- NISI DOMINUS CUSTOS CUSTODIVERIT DOMUM FRUSTRA
- VIGILAT QUI CUSTODIT EAM: NISI DOMINUS AEDIFICAVERIT
- DOMUM IN VANUM LABORAVERUNT QUI AEDIFICANT EAM
The words are based on the 127th Psalm, "Except the Lord build the house they labour but in vain they who build it; except the Lord keep the house the watchman waketh but in vain".[2]
By 1635 an ambitious classicising screen had been added across the open southern side of the courtyard, probably to make the two wings directly accessible to each another; its design deviates enough from
While the family was away fighting for the Royalist cause in the Civil War, the east side of the house was set on fire and severely damaged. The folklore is that an old woman known as Elspeth, who lived in the parvise over the north porch of the church, first noticed the blaze and alerted the village, thus saving the remainder of the house. The marks of the flames can still be clearly seen on the lintels of the windows. The contents of the house were looted and much damage inflicted on the estate by the Parliamentarians.
In October 1695, King William III visited the house and introduced the Dutch custom of planting avenues: not only to add to the importance of the house, but also to improve the outlook from its windows. Within a month of the visit, Lord Northampton began the planting of four avenues opposite each face of the house—something that took 25 years.
As a result of
.JPG)
It was not until the 1860s that any further substantial changes were carried out at the house, when
At this time the terraces round the house with their terracotta balustrading were laid out, and the Italian "golden gates" at the entrance to the front drive were hung on piers designed by Wyatt himself. However, before all the changes were carried out, Lady Northampton died of consumption, giving rise to the pitiful Latin inscription in terracotta lettering beside the church: "To Theodosia, sweetest of wives…Begun in hope, finished in despair 1865."
In 1867 the architect
Later still, in the time of the 4th Marquess (1877–1897), extensive redecoration was carried out to the Long Gallery, Great Hall, Billiards Room and Chapel. Plans for the redecoration of the Long Gallery were drawn up by William Burges,[6] but these were not executed and the work was undertaken by Thomas Graham Jackson.[7]
Recent history
The Castle is closed to the public.
The house was designated as
Two garden features are Grade II* listed: the Menagerie (1760s)[11] and the Terrace Gardens (1864–1866).[12]
Grounds
The Castle Ashby Estate is managed by Compton Estates for Lord Northampton, who remains one of the area's great landowners; the estate includes land in many of the neighbouring villages, such as Grendon, Denton and Yardley Hastings.
The Estate grounds also include a fine cricket pitch in front of the castle and a drive almost 4 miles long.
The Castle and grounds are not open to the public.
Events
The grounds provided the venue for the
Two open-air concerts were given by Sir Elton John in the grounds in front of the house in July 2000.
In popular culture
Academic Dr. Robert Clark theorized
The greenhouse at Castle Ashby Gardens was used for filming part of the film Men in Black: International, doubling as part of Riza's Castle.[14]
See also
Notes
- ^ Birch, Walter de Gray (1892). Catalogue of seals in the Department of manuscripts in the British museum. British Museum, Dept. of Manuscripts. pp. 553–. Retrieved 7 July 2011.
- ^ a b c "History". Welcome to Castle Ashby Gardens. Archived from the original on 20 October 2010. Retrieved 18 March 2011.
- ^ Gervase Jackson-Stops in Country Life 30 January 1986.
- ^ Colvin, A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1600–1840 3rd ed. 1995, sub Edward Carter.
- ^ It was altered again in 1884. (Colvin 1995, sub John Johnson).
- ^ Crook 1981a, "Appendix B"
- ^ Cherry & Pevsner 1973, p. 143.
- ^ Historic England. "Castle Ashby (1371298)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
- ^ Historic England. "Church of St Mary Magdalen (1294095)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
- ^ Historic England. "Castle Ashby – Parks and Gardens (1000385)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
- ^ Historic England. "The Menagerie (1189885)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
- ^ Historic England. "Terrace Gardens (1189676)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
- ^ Furness, Hannah (3 September 2015). "Revealed: the real inspiration for Jane Austen's Mansfield Park". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
- ^ "Northamptonshire on the big screen: The films that put the county on the movie map". Northampton Chronicle. 9 August 2020. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
References
- Cherry, Bridget; Pevsner, Nikolaus (1973). The Buildings of England: Northamptonshire. New Haven, CT; London: Yale University Press. .
- Crook, J. Mordaunt (1981a). William Burges and the High Victorian Dream. John Murray. ISBN 978-0-7195-3822-3.
