Canons Ashby House Northamptonshire

It's a beautiful sunny Friday in August, which also happens to be my Birthday too. We are in a lovely part of the county with some smashing rural villages. We are visiting Canons Ashby Hose for the first time. A Tudor manor house set in rare terraced gardens, and the ancestral home of the Dryden family. It has been owned by the National Trust since 1981. At this time the house would have been in a state of complete disrepair. The gardens were overgrown meadows. The house dates back to 1551 and is Grade I listed. A square Tower was added in 1560 and has stood for 5 centuries. The tower also represents the Landmark Trust’s first joint venture with the
National Trust, the two working together to secure its future. The apartment at the top of the Tower can be rented out. Your own hidden refuge looking out across the gardens and parkland. Sounds very appealing to me.

Underneath the Gourd Arch

The formal terraced garden was created in 1710, in the time of Edward Dryden. The garden was reconstructed, based on the plans drawn up in the late 1800s by Sir Henry Dryden. For a small garden there is plenty going on. Lots of Climbers, herbaceous borders and bedding plants. The vegetable plots are in good shape too. I particularly enjoyed the 'Gourd Arch' which was very effective.  

The flower beds are replanted regularly with plants grown at home. The gardens design is very symmetrical with a formal elegance. To the right of the top terrace is the croquet lawn, which contains a lovely Cedar of Lebanon tree which was planted in 1780.Unfortunately it was badly damaged in the storms of 1987, losing half of it's height.  

The Tower

Retreating from the hot sun we enter the house via the cobbled courtyard. The house has changed little since the early 18th century and is currently presented to show how it was used during the lifetime of Sir Henry Dryden, who lived there between 1837 and 1899. It is quite an entrance too, straight into the Great Hall. The walls decorated with weapons and armour, and various military emblems.The Great Hall would only have been used for large functions. 

Each room has a knowledgeable volunteer Guide on hand to provide all the information on the history you need. We then move on to the panelled Dining Room. Lots of painting adorn the walls and there is a nice open feel to it.  

We move on to the Library or 'Book Room'. This room was once home to a Billiard table. Sir Henry had the nickname 'The Antiquary' due to his wide knowledge of history, archaeology and medieval architecture. The Guide in this room told us what a stickler for detail he was. constantly measuring and double checking his findings on his many expeditions.

The Kitchen

The Drawing Room is very impressive and would have changed a lot of the years. It was completely re-modelled by Edward Dryden in about 1710 and described in the 1717 inventory as the ‘right-hand parlour’. It’s a beautiful example of an early Georgian oak-panelled room. Back down the wooden stairs we visit the servant’s hall, kitchen, and storerooms.

Open Parkland

Leaving the House we venture through the big metal gates into the parkland. We pass the 500 year old Oak Tree down to the lakes. Sadly these are now fenced off , under the care of an Angling Club. It is still incredibly hot, nor much shade to be had. We walk back through the medieval fields towards the Mound, passing a large fallen tree. The Mound is something of a mystery. Archeological digs are inconclusive. I would like to think it is a Norman 'Motte and Bailey'. Although it could even be prehistoric?

'The Mound'

We make our way back via the road, passing the former medieval village in the next field. There is a good view over the wall of the house and garden from the Great Hall. This where the statue of 'The Shepherd Boy' is located.

The Dryden family were were Parliamentary supporters during the civil war (1642 – 1651). The Shepherd Boy was a lookout for Royalist troops. Upon sighting the enemy the ,boy would play his Flute as an early warning. The Parliamentarians took shelter in the church. Royalists set fires in the tower and smoked the Parliamentarians out. During the skirmish, the Shepherd Boy was sadly killed. The Dryden family raised the Shepherd’s Boy statue in 1713.Flemish Sculptor Jan Van Nost the Younger was commissioned to complete the sculpture. Although it would seem there was something of a delay in getting paid for his work. We adjourn to the Tea Room for some much needed refreshment.

The Priory Church

Suitably refreshed we move across the road to the Priory Church. Founded in 1147 by Augustinian canons. When it was originally built it would have been the size of a Cathedral. However following it's dissolution by Henry VIII in 1536 the church is now about a quarter of its original size.

Since the Dryden family came to Canons Ashby in the 1550's it has been a private family church The priory is one of only four private churches in England. Within the church are numerous memorials to Dryden family members, and 11 funerary hatchments set on the walls.

It has been a really lovely day out, a great way to celebrate my Birthday!