Asheridge

Asheridge (recorded Esserugge in 13th century) is a small hamlet in the parish of Chartridge, in Buckinghamshire, England. Prior to 1898 it was part of Chesham parish. It is situated in the Chiltern Hills, about two and a half miles north west of Chesham, 5 miles from Great Missenden and 6 miles from Wendover.

The village name is probably of Anglo-Saxon origin but its meaning is uncertain. Its may denote, Eastern or Ash tree Ridge, referring to the situation of the village on the ridge of a hill or could derive from previous associations with the manor of nearby Aston Clinton. Matilda de Esserugge is recorded as having connections with Missenden Abbey in the mid 13th century.

Asheridge farm house is of 16th century origin. In 1848 Asheridge is recorded as having a population of 129. A school and congregational church were established there during the latter part of the 19th century and records show they were still in existence in 1891. The Blue Ball Public House which was at the centre of the settlement at that time is still in business today.^[1]

Aneurin (Nye) Bevan, Labour Minister responsible for the establishment of the National Health Service and his wife Jennie Lee also a Minister in the same Labour Government and a prime mover in the creation of the Open University, came to live at Wood Farm, Asheridge during the 1950s. After the death of her husband, Nye in 1960 Jennie Lee continued to live there until moving to London in 1969. She became Baroness Lee of Asheridge in 1970.^[2]

References

1. ^ British History Online - Victorian History of Buckinghamshire Volume 3 - Chesham
2. ^ Papers of Jennie Lee, Baroness Lee of Asheridge

• Early Buckinghamshire Charters by Dr Herbert R.G. Fowler & J. G.Jenkins Records of the Buckinghamshire Archaeological Society Vol 3 page 48 1939