Ashridge is an estate and house in Hertfordshire, England; part of the land stretches into Buckinghamshire and it is close to the Bedfordshire border. It is situated in the Chiltern Hills, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, about two miles (3 km) north of Berkhamsted and twenty miles (32 km) north west of London. Surrounding villages include Aldbury, Pitstone, Ivinghoe, Little Gaddesden, Nettleden, Frithsden and Potten End.
The estate comprises 20 square kilometres (5,000 acres) of woodlands (known as Ashridge Forest), commons and chalk downland which supports a rich variety of wildlife. It also offers a good choice of waymarked walks through outstanding country. The estate is currently owned by the National Trust.
It should not be confused with Asheridge, which is a hamlet about five miles (8 km) south-west, the other side of Berkhamsted.
Contents |
In mediæval times it was the location of Ashridge Priory, founded in 1283 by Edmund, 2nd Earl of Cornwall, who had a palace here.[1]
In 1604 the estate became the property of the Thomas Egerton.[2] In 1848 the estate passed to the Earls Brownlow, another strand of the Egerton family,[3] and then in 1921 it was split, with the land passing to the National Trust, while the house and garden was acquired by speculators. In 1928 Urban Hanlon Broughton purchased the house as a gift for the Conservative Party intended to commemorate Andrew Bonar Law.[4]
The 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".[5] It is 108 feet (33 m) tall, with 170 steps inside, designed by Sir Jeffry Wyattville in a Doric style. It overlooks the village of Aldbury and the Grand Union Canal.
It was built away from Ashridge House as his mother wanted "not to see or be reminded of my infernal son" [6]
In 1959 Ashridge College was re-launched to provide management training, and is now Ashridge Business School.[7]
Ashridge Common has been featured many times in film and television series due to its distinction as an area of natural beauty. Scenes for Sleepy Hollow, Jonathan Creek and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire were filmed in Ashridge's Frithsden Beeches wood.[8] The Ashridge House, which is now Ashridge Business School has been featured in films such as The Dirty Dozen.[9]
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.[10]
| Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
| Area of Search | Hertfordshire |
|---|---|
| Grid reference | SP975135 |
| Interest | Biological |
| Area | 640.1 hectares |
| Notification | 1987 |
| Location map | English Nature |
Ashridge Commons & Woods (grid reference SP975135) is a 640.1 hectare (1581.7 acre) Biological Site of Special Scientific Interest. The site was notified in 1987 under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and lies on the Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire border and is home to much semi-natural vegetation. As well as this, the site has extensive areas of woodland, grass and plantations. The site supports bird-breeding community which as both country and national different species of birds.[11]