98 A BOOK OF ENGLISH GARDENS 



stretch vast Lawns planted with splendid trees ; 

 and avenues of Ilexes and other deciduous trees 

 fade far away into the blue distance. This is the 

 Ashridge of to-day, with its vast house and 

 magnificent grounds, so different in its modern 

 splendour from the Ashridge of Elizabeth and the 

 old monks. Yet with all its modernness, for those 

 who know its history, there is still the romantic 

 glamour of its past. Items of interest about the 

 beautiful old place may be gathered by the score in 

 turning over old records. 



Precisely how early Ashridge existed is hardly 

 known. Some claim that it was one of the King's 

 palaces before it became a monastery. The name 

 was formerly written Ascherugge, and is derived 

 from "a hill set with Ash trees" the first part of 

 the word meaning Ashentree, and rugge standing 

 for steep place afterwards written ridge. 



Ashridge is in the parish of Pitstone, and lies in 

 two counties, the present house being in Bucking- 

 hamshire, and the stables in Hertfordshire. The 

 monastery was founded in 1283 by Edmund, the 

 son of Richard, Earl of Cornwall, and King of the 

 Romans (the younger brother of Henry II.) and 

 Senchia, daughter of the Earl and Countess of 

 Provence. Richard endowed his wife on his 

 wedding-day with the third of his vast possessions ; 

 and, according to Matthew Paris, the old monkish 

 chronicler, the wedding was kept with the greatest 



