Ashridge | |
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Ashridge House
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The Bridgewater Monument
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Ashridge shown within Hertfordshire
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OS grid reference | SP975135 |
Coordinates | 51°47′59″N 0°33′34″W / 51.7996°N 0.5594°WCoordinates: 51°47′59″N 0°33′34″W / 51.7996°N 0.5594°W |
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Ashridge is a country estate and stately home in Hertfordshire, England in the United Kingdom; 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 2 miles (3.2 km) north of Berkhamsted and 20 miles (32 km) north west of London. Surrounding villages include Aldbury, Pitstone, Ivinghoe, Little Gaddesden, Nettleden, Frithsden and Potten End.
The estate comprises 5,000 acres (20 km2) 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.
In mediæval times Ashridge was the location of Ashridge Priory, a college of the monastic order of Bonhommes founded in 1283 by Edmund, 2nd Earl of Cornwall, who had a palace here. During the Dissolution of the Monasteries the priory was surrendered to Henry VIII who eventually bequeathed the property to his daughter, Elizabeth. The priory church was demolished during the reign of Elizabeth I.