Randonnées Ashridge Estate

Ashridge Estate dates back over 700 years to when a monastery was founded by Edmund, Earl of Cornwall. The monastic order was known as the College of Bonhommes because of the colour of their robes. It continued to flourish until Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries in 1539. He bequeathed the estate to the future Queen Elizabeth I. She lived there for eight years before being arrested by her half-sister Mary and taken to the Tower of London. After Elizabeth’s death the estate was bought by Thomas Egerton, whose son bought the title, the Earl of Bridgewater. In 1720 the fourth Earl became the first Duke of Bridgewater. The most famous member of the family was the ‘Canal Duke’, who commissioned the building of the Bridgewater Canal which opened in 1761, and is regarded as the first true canal in Britain. In 1853 the estate passed to Lord Brownlow whose family held on to it until 1925 when it was split up, with much of the parkland and surrounding area passing to The National Trust. The parkland is a haven for wildlife and is famous for its herds of fallow deer.