Canons Ashby was built in the 1550s using the remains of a medieval
priory. It was built by John Dryden, great-grandfather of the Poet
Laureate of the same name. It was extended in the 1590s by Sir Erasmus
Dryden, and underwent further alterations in the late 16th century and
early 18th century. The interior includes a drawing room with a domed
plasterwork ceiling and a painted parlour with an interesting piece of
baroque trompe-l’eoil. The landscape features a formal garden created
for Edward Dryden in 1708-17 and is one of the best surviving layouts of
the period.
A tranquil Elizabethan house set in beautiful restored 18th-century
gardens, home to the Dryden family since the sixteenth century.
More than a manor house but less than a grand mansion, the existing
building is a complex patchwork of alterations and additions from over
four centuries. Built around a 16th century farmhouse, the Dryden family
extended the building and added a staircase tower using the remains of a
medieval priory. The house and gardens have survived largely unaltered
since 1710 and are presented as they were during the time of Sir Henry
Dryden, a Victorian antiquary, passionate about the past.
The warm, welcoming house features grand rooms, stunning tapestries and
Jacobean plasterwork, contrasting with the domestic detail of the
servants' quarters.
[ https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/]
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| The inner courtyard |
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| The house is set in wonderul gardens, laid out from 1708-1710 by Edward
Dryden. These are in the form of four terraces linked by a central path.
The original designed called for formal parterres on the upper terraces
nearest the house, with the lower terraces given over to kitchen
gardens. Close to the house is a small walled garden area known as The
Green, mainly covered in lawns, which used to have two ponds and a
bowling green. In this garden is a famous statue called Shepherd Boy, by
John Nost (Jan van Nost), created about 1710. This lovely sculpture
shows a young boy playing a flute, a small dog at his feet, one arm
resting on a tree stump.
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The panelling behind the paint
Today the
Servants’ Hall may seem a little grand, with its gold panelling and
colourful crests and emblems. This extraordinary and curious feature,
probably added in the 1590s, was discovered in the 1980s when National
Trust conservators removed centuries of cream paint.
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Sir John’s ceiling
A rare surprise awaits you in the Drawing Room. Heads
of Indian princesses, pomegranates and thistles feature in the
seventeenth-century domed ceiling, which was a gift from Sir John
Dryden, 2nd Bt, to his third wife. The
need to conserve this amazing and unique plaster-work ceiling was the
key reason the National Trust took on the property in 1981. |
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The paint behind the panelling
From walnut panelling to grisaille paintings, the
Spenser's Room shows a unique seventeenth-century mural depicting the
Old Testament story of Jeroboam. This remarkable scheme was discovered behind early eighteenth-century panelling during restoration of the house.
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Nature, art and craftsmanship combined
A passion for nature, art and craftsmanship is combined in the Tapestry
Room’s suite of walnut furniture. This wonderful collection still has
its original early eighteenth-century embroidered covers, showing
flowers, birds and pastoral scenes. |
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| Canons Ashby's Tudor kitchen |
