Taken 2005/03 by William M. Connolley
Ashridge Estate and house are in Hertfordshire, England and part ot of London. Surrounding villages include Aldbury, Pitstone, Ivinghoe, Little Gaddesden, Nettledenf. The land stretches into Buckinghamshire and it is close to the Bedfordshire border. It is situated in the Chiltern Hills, an area of natural beauty, about two miles north of Berkhamsted and twenty miles north west of Potten End.
From mediaeval times Ashridge was the location of an abbey founded in 1276 by the Earl of Cornwall, who had a palace here. The order was known as the Bonhommes, or 'bluefriars' because of the colour of their robes. King Edward I held parliament at the abbey in 1290 while he spent Christmas in Pitstone.
The building ceased to be used as an abbey in the 16th century. It then became the private residence of Princess Elizabeth who was the younger daughter of King Henry VIII. She was arrested here in 1552, under suspicion of treason.
The estate belonged to the Dukes and Earls of Bridgewater from 1604 to 1848. The Bridgewater Monument was built in memory of the 3rd Duke, Francis Egerton, the "father of inland navigation" with a view to the Grand Union Canal. The momument contains a narrow spiral staircase of 170 steps and is open to the public.
Taken 2005/03 by William M. Connolley
The abbey was of grand proportion and richly decorated. It was demolished in 1802 by the 7th Earl of Bridgewater. A large neo-Gothic house was then built which was designed by James Wyatt. The boundary between Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire went throught the dining room. However, the house is totally in Hertfordshire now. The Earls of Brownlow inherited the house and in 1920 the lands went to the Natinal Trust and the house & garden became the Ashridge College.
During WWII, Ashridge was used as an secondary site for Charing Cross Hospital. When the war was over reopened as a College of Citizenship and then soon became a finishing school for girls. In 1954 Ashride provided management training and has become the Ashridge business School.
(Ashridge Estate information at the National Trust)
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