Ashton Court

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Ashton Court
Building information
Location	Bristol
Country	England
Client	Smyth family
Construction Start Date	1633

Ashton Court

Shown within Bristol (above) and England.

Ashton Court (grid reference ST553723) is a mansion house and estate to the west of Bristol in England. Although the estate lies mainly in North Somerset, it is owned by the City of Bristol. The estate is a venue for a variety of leisure activities, including the Ashton Court festival and the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta.

The core of the house was built in the 15th century, but it was enlarged and adapted over the centuries by the Smyth family, who bought the estate in 1545. The south facade dates from about 1633 and was extended eastwards in the 19th century. The house became derelict after the last of the Smyths died in 1946; it was taken over by the City in 1959, and restoration has been an ongoing process since then. The facilities of the house are now rented out for business conferences, parties and weddings.

The estate covers 850 acres (3.4 km²) of woods and open grassland. It includes two pitch-and-putt golf courses, an orienteering course and horse riding and mountain bike trails. There is a deer park and a great variety of wildlife; much of the site (an area of 210.31 hectares) was notified in 1998 as a Site of Special Scientific Interest due to the presence of rare woodland beetles.

The lower lodge to Ashton Court and attached gates, railings and bollards, which were built in 1805 by Henry Wood, are a grade II* listed building.^[1]

[edit] Image Gallery

The mansion at Ashton Court

Aerial view of Ashton Court Estate

Morning ascent at the International Balloon Fiesta

Lodge

[edit] References

1. ^ Lower Lodge to Ashton Court and attached gates, railings and bollards. Images of England. Retrieved on March 18, 2007.

• SSSI citation sheet at English Nature's website (accessed on 13 July 2006)

[edit] External links

• A page about the Ashton Court estate at Bristol City Council's website

Biological Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Avon

Ashton Court • Avon Gorge • Banwell Caves • Biddle Street, Yatton • Bishop's Hill Wood • Blagdon Lake • Bodkin Hazel Wood • Brockley Hall Stables • Brown's Folly • Burledge Sidelands and Meadows • Burrington Combe • Chew Valley Lake • Cleaves Wood • Cleeve Wood, Hanham • Combe Down and Bathampton Down Mines • Compton Martin Ochre Mine • Congrove Field and The Tumps • Dolebury Warren • Ellenborough Park West • Folly Farm • Goblin Combe • Gordano Valley • Harptree Combe • Hawkesbury Meadow • Hinton Charterhouse Field • Horseshoe Bend, Shirehampton • Iford Manor • King's Wood and Urchin Wood • Long Dole Wood and Meadows • Lower Woods • Max Bog • Middle Hope • Midger • Monkswood Valley • Plaster's Green Meadows • Purn Hill • Puxton Moor • Severn Estuary • Shiplate Slait • St. Catherine's Valley • Steep Holm • Tickenham, Nailsea and Kenn Moors • Uphill Cliff • Upton Coombe • Walton Common • Weston Big Wood  • Yanal Bog Neighbouring areas: Gloucestershire • Somerset • Wiltshire

Coordinates: 51.44791° N 2.64462° W