SAVING ASHRIDGE

Walk the woods, hills and valleys of the Ashridge estate and the feeling is one of timelessness. It could all have been very different when it was put up for sale in the 1920s

- Liz Hamilton

When the 3rd Earl Brownlow died a widower and childless in March 1921, he left 58,000 acres spread across the country, including the Ashridge estate, which stradles the Herts-Beds border to the west of Harpenden. No doubt the residents of Little Gaddesden and the other Chilterns villages within the estate expected the property to pass to an heir.

Instead, the earl’s will directed that the house and land, which had been owned by the same family since 1604, should be sold. The possible breakup of one of the country’s finest estates caused considerable disquiet and uncertainty, not least in the estate’s villages, where many of the tenants either worked for or supplied goods and services to Ashridge.

At a time of little planning control, countryside around the edges of towns and cities and in rural areas was being sold for housing, facilitated by the rise in private car ownership and the spread of services like electricity. Ashridge lies close to railway stations for easy commuting to London and was clearly threatened.

The estate included extensive common land, including high chalk downland along the Chilterns scarp, over which generations of local people had exercised rights to graze their animals and collect fuel. By the 1920s that use was in decline. The estate woods contained many acres of valuable timber. Locals had enjoyed the paths and amenities of the estate on foot, but had few legal rights to go on to the land. The potential loss of access to this countryside and beauty was anticipated with considerable concern.

In May 1923 the contents of the grand house went up for sale, but it was another two years before the sale of the house itself and the estate was announced. Almost immediately there was an offer from a syndicate for the whole property – ominous news. At the same time an anonymous donor offered £20,000 (equivalent to over £1m today) to enable the National Trust to buy some of the land.