Canons Ashby

There are a great many interesting houses in the Midlands, many of which are owned by the National Trust whose work we should all be thankful for. We have been fortunate enough to have visited a good many of them and hope to be able continue our ramblings when the season restarts next spring.

The end of this season saw us at Canons Ashby in Northamptonshire, a romantic,16th century Elizabethan manor house, which has survived unaltered since 1710. It was the home of the Dryden family since it was first built and sits amongst beautiful gardens. Although John Dryden, the poet, is associated with the house, it is not thought that he would have spent a great deal of time here as it was his uncle who was resident at the time. There is a good Wikipedia article about his life




The West Court containing eight topiary yews was once the main entrance to the house but its sweep of lawn, espaliered walls and charming statue of a shepherd boy demonstrate the elegance of an early 18th century garden. An interesting fact totally unrelated to this photo is that John Dryden of Canons Ashby is the 13th great grandfather, through his daughter Bridget Dryden, of President George W. Bush. Perhaps I should revise my views of the President, perhaps it could be that he is more cultured than you might think. But then, perhaps not!



This unexpectedly grand church is all that is left of the Augustinian priory which gave Canons Ashby its name. The priory once dominated a flourishing medieval village but all that can be seen today are furrows and bumps in the grass. The church has been reduced to a quarter of its original size but it is still impressive with a pinnacled tower that can be seen for miles around.



There are some 70 acres of grounds, some of which are given over to formal gardens. Formal gardens undoubtedly surrounded the sixteenth century house as that was the current style but all traces of them disappeared long ago. The current garden plan is largely the work of Edward Dryden who laid down the paths, walls and terraces between 1708 and 1718 in the style of royal gardeners such as George London and Henry Wise. The gate piers were decorated in an antiquarian fashion including the globe and lion crest of the Drydens.

By 1904 the garden was to have a major influence on the Arts and Crafts style of people such as Sir Edwin Lutyens and Gertrude Jekyll. Although the garden was looked after during the 1920's and 30's it began to become overgrown later, especially during the war years.

Many of the large trees were attacked by gales or dutch elm disease in the middle of the twentieth century and when the National Trust took over in 1981 they faced a huge task of pruning and restoring the garden to the earlier plan. At the beginning of the twenty first century all that glory is revealed once more.


More pictures can be found at Smugmug - Canons Ashby and the National Trust gives some useful information for intending visitors.