The centre of the entrance front. The oldest part of the house. a beam over the present front door (behind the fountain) testifies the date 1606

Ascott House, sometimes referred to as simply Ascott, is situated in the hamlet of Ascott near Wing in Buckinghamshire. The house was originally a farm house, built in the reign of James I known as 'Ascott Hall'. It was acquired by Baron Mayer de Rothschild (of the neighbouring Mentmore Towers estate) in 1873. The Rothschild family had begun to acquire vast tracts of land in Buckinghamshire earlier in the century, on which they built a series of large mansions from 1852 onwards. Baron Mayer gave the house at Ascott to his nephew Leopold de Rothschild, who transformed it over the following decades into the substantial, but informal country house it is today. Ascott House, Bucks. ... Ascott House, Bucks. ... Events January 27 - The trial of Guy Fawkes and other conspirators begins ending in their execution on January 31 May 17 - Supporters of Vasili Shusky invade the Kremlin and kill pretender Dmitri December 26 - Shakespeares King Lear performed in court Storm buries a village of St Ismails near... The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark is a tragedy by William Shakespeare and one of his most well-known and oft-quoted plays. ... Ascott is a hamlet and country house in the parish of Wing in Buckinghamshire, England. ... In computing, WinG (pronounced Win Gee) was an API to provide fast graphics performance on Windows 3. ... Buckinghamshire (abbreviated Bucks) is a county in south central England. ... James VI of Scotland and I of England (Charles James) (19 June 1566–27 March 1625) was a King who ruled over England, Scotland and Ireland, and was the first Sovereign to reign in the three realms simultaneously. ... Baron Mayer de Rothschild (named Mayer Amschel Rothschild for his grandfather with that name) (1818 - 1874) was the third son of Nathan Mayer Rothschild (1777 - 1836). ... Mentmore Towers is a large English country house in the village of Mentmore in Buckinghamshire. ... Estate may have a number of meanings: Estate is a term used in common law to signify the total of a persons property, entitlements and obligations. ... This article is about the domestic group. ... This is a list of decades which have articles with more information about them. ... In Britain (and also in Ireland) the term country house generally refers to a large house which was built on an agricultural estate as the private residence of the landowner. ...

Architecture

The Garden Front. From 1874 until the 1930s the house was almost constantly extended

At a casual first glance Ascott appears the epitome of a perfect ancient English manor house, however as is often the case with perfect ancient English manor houses nothing could be further from the truth. Leopold de Rothschild whose principal country residence was Gunnersbury Park used Ascott, at first as a hunting box, but realising the limitations imposed by its modest size in 1874 employed the architect George Devey to enlarge it. The present half timbered house is largely the result of that commission. Devey attempted to design a house that rambled as though it had grown and developed over centuries; to some extent he achieved this. This project for Devey became a life times work as the house was continually expanded for the remainder of the 19th century. However, the climbing shrubs he envisaged all over the house, are no longer there, and this has made the half timbered facades appear stark. Ascott House photographed by uploader This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Ascott House photographed by uploader This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Events January - April January 1 - New York City annexes The Bronx January 23 - Marriage of the Duke of Edinburgh, second son of Queen Victoria, to Grand Duchess Marie Alexandrovna of Russia, only daughter of Emperor Alexander III of Russia. ... 1930 is a common year starting on Wednesday. ... Events January - April January 1 - New York City annexes The Bronx January 23 - Marriage of the Duke of Edinburgh, second son of Queen Victoria, to Grand Duchess Marie Alexandrovna of Russia, only daughter of Emperor Alexander III of Russia. ... George Devey was born in London in 1820, the second son of Frederick and Ann Devey. ...

The style of architecture which could be described as "English cottage" meets "Tudor Cheshire Manor house" is informal, the ground floor is of red brick, while the subsequent floors above are half timbered. This rustic design was, no doubt, intended to reflect the house's original intention as a rural retreat and hunting lodge purely for relaxation and pleasure, and to contrast with the family's alternative country home, the more classical and thus impressive Gunnersbury Park. Other Rothschild Houses in Buckinghamshire were all designed in the more formal styles of architecture either the classical renaissance such as Mentmore or that of a French chateau as at Waddesdon Manor. In no way though is the architecture at Ascott intended to faithfully reproduce that of an earlier era. Devey the forerunner of the arts and crafts movement had developed a rustic style of his own, huge bay windows provided fine views over the Chiltern Hills, multiple gables of varying heights, and roof lines sweeping to different levels resemble those designed by the more well known Edwin Lutyens, years later in the early 20th century. The period of English history known as the Tudor period normally refers to the period of time between 1485 and 1603 when the Tudor dynasty (Welsh Twdwr) held the English throne. ... This article is about the English county. ... A château ( French for castle; plural châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor or a country house of gentry, usually French, with or without fortifications. ... Waddesdon Manor is a mansion at Waddesdon in Buckinghamshire, built between 1874 and 1889 for Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild (1839-1898) of the Rothschild banking dynasty, who was Member of Parliament for nearby Aylesbury. ... Arts and crafts comprise a whole host of activities and hobbies that are related to making things with ones own hands and skill. ... The Chiltern Hills are a chalk escarpment that stretches in a south_west to north_east diagonal across several counties of southern England, but is most prominent in Buckinghamshire. ... Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens OM (March 29, 1869 - January 1, 1944), a British architect, designed many English country houses and was instrumental in the layout and building of New Delhi. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the...

Interior

"Lady receiving a letter" by Ludolph de Jongh (1616 - 1679) bought by Baron Lionel de Rothschild in 1842

On the death of Mrs. Leopold de Rothschild in 1937 the house was inherited by her son Anthony de Rothschild. It was he and his wife the former Yvonne D'Anvers who enlarged the house further, and are responsible for the present interiors, full of notable paintings and (unusually for a Rothschild House) a large collection of 18th century English furniture. Lady receiving a letter by de Jongh The two-dimensional work of art depicted in this image is in the public domain in the United States and in those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. ... Lady receiving a letter by de Jongh The two-dimensional work of art depicted in this image is in the public domain in the United States and in those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. ... 1937 was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ...

The ground floor contains the principal suite of large reception rooms, while these rooms are furnished with priceless works of art and furniture, they are low ceilinged, and continuing the informal concept of the design, they are in no way intended to be state rooms. The entrance hall is notable for its large paintings by Gainsborough,Romney and Reynolds and the large work by George Stubbs "Five Mares". The dining room, now decorated with what appear to be Dutch tiles but is in fact trompe l'oeil, contains a collection of small, mainly Dutch, paintings from the 16th century and 17th century by such artists as Aelbert Cuyp, Adrian van Ostade and Jan Steen. A State Room in a large European mansion, is usually one of a suite of very grand rooms which were designed to impress, they were the most luxurious in the house and contained the finest works of art. ... There are several places in England named Gainsborough : Gainsborough, Lincolnshire and an area of Ipswich. ... New Romney is a small seaside town in Kent, England. ... People People with entries in Wikipedia whose family name is or was Reynolds include Reynolds, Alastair (born 1966), Welsh science fiction author Reynolds, Albert (born 1932), Irish politician Reynolds, Allie (1917-1994), U.S. Major League Baseball pitcher Reynolds, Brian, computer strategy game designer Reynolds, Burt, (born 1936), U.S... George Stubbs (August 25, 1724 - July 10, 1806) was a British painter, best known for his paintings of horses. ... Trompe loeil on building in Narbonne, France. ... (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ... (16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700. ... The Negro Page Aelbert Jacobsz Cuyp (October 20, 1620 _ November 15, 1691) was one of the predominant Dutch landscape painters of the 17th century. ... Self Portrait as a Lutenist (1660-63) Jan Havickszoon Steen (born 1626 (?) in Leiden, died January 1, 1679 in Leiden) was a Dutch painter of the 17th century (also known as the Dutch Golden Age). ...

The priceless works of art continue through the common room, with its portrait of a prelate by attributed to Lorenzo Lotto, the Drawing room today displays a collection of blue Chinese ceramics with examples from the Han dynasty circa 206 BC, to the Qing dynasty which lasted from 1644 until 1911. This room contains the painting of the Madonna and Child with St. John by Andrea del Sarto of 1520. Lorenzo Lotto (c. ... The word ceramic is derived from Greek, and in its strictest sense refers to clay in all its forms. ... The Han Dynasty (Traditional Chinese characters: 漢朝, Simplified Chinese characters: 汉朝, pinyin Hàncháo 202 BC - AD 220) followed the Qin Dynasty and preceded the Three Kingdoms in China. ... The Qing Dynasty (Manchu: daicing gurun; Chinese: 清朝; pinyin: qīng cháo; Wade-Giles: ching chao), sometimes known as the founded by the Manchu clan Aisin Gioro, in what is today northeast China expanded into China proper and the surrounding territories of Inner Asia, establishing the Empire of the... A self portrait Andrea del Sarto (Andrea dAgnolo di Francesco di Luca di Paolo del Migliore, Gualfonda, Florence, 1487 - Florence, 1531). ...

In 1936 the Billiards Room was transformed into a library to house the many volumes amassed by Anthony de Rothschild, one of the most comfortable rooms in the house its book lined walls are only interrupted by Gainsboroughs full length portrait of the Duchess of Richmond, and various other masterpieces, standing on a console table is Tiepolo's "The assumption of the Virgin", this room also contains furniture by Thomas Chippendale and ancient Chinese ceramics. There are several places in England named Gainsborough : Gainsborough, Lincolnshire and an area of Ipswich. ... The Death of Hyacinth Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (March 5, 1696 - March 27, 1770) was a Venetian painter. ... Thomas Chippendale, the elder (June 5, 1718 - November 1779) was a furniture designer and maker from Otley, West Yorkshire. ...

Gardens

The "Madeira Walk", a path between two mirror herbaceous borders, terminated by George Devey's classical pavilion

The extensive manicured gardens were laid out on the advice of the garden designer Sir Harry Veitch circa 1902 by Leopold de Rothschild as a wedding present to his wife. A sundial made entirely of topiary complete with Latin numerals proclaims in clipped yew "Light and shade by turn, but love always". Ascott House garden, Photographed by uploader This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Ascott House garden, Photographed by uploader This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... A herbaceous border is a collection of soft-stemmed (non-woody) perennials arranged closely together, usually to create a dramatic effect through colour, shape or large scale. ... George Devey was born in London in 1820, the second son of Frederick and Ann Devey. ... Pavilion may refer to a type of building: Pavilion (leisure) or to a specific building: Pavilion, New York London Pavilion Royal Pavilion This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

The Venus fountain by Thomas Waldo Story

Closest to the south front of the house, are paved areas of gardens in the style of Gertrude Jekyll, from these across large areas of lawn, are the terraced gardens. The dominating feature, of these individual gardens are the clipped hedges, topiary and flowering shrubs. The largest feature of the garden is the bronze fountain representing [[Venus in her shell chariot attended by cherubs" this is by the American sculptor Thomas Waldo Story. Story was also responsible for the fountain in the Dutch flower garden. This garden so named for its displays of tulips in spring, is approached by descending a flight of steps through a rock garden, complete with dripping grotto and artificial stalagmites. In the centre of the garden Story's tall fountain, crowned by Cupid supported by dolphins, is surrounded by a formal bedding scheme. Fountain by Julian Story in the gardens of Ascott House, Buckinghamshire. ... Fountain by Julian Story in the gardens of Ascott House, Buckinghamshire. ... Venus can refer to many things: Venus: the second closest planet to the Sun in our solar system Venus (mythology): the Roman goddess of love The planet Venus in Astrology is supposed to influence love and in Medical astrology is supposed to influence the digestive system. ... Gertrude Jekyll (1843-1932), created over 400 gardens in the UK, Europe and the USA. She contributed over 1,000 articles to Country Life, The Garden and other magazines. ... Categories: Stub ... Bronze figurine, found at Öland Bronze is the traditional name for a broad range of alloys of copper. ... Venus can refer to many things: Venus: the second closest planet to the Sun in our solar system Venus (mythology): the Roman goddess of love The planet Venus in Astrology is supposed to influence love and in Medical astrology is supposed to influence the digestive system. ... Chariot was the name of a WW2 naval weapon, the British manned torpedo. ... A cherub (Hebrew כרוב; plural cherubim, כרובים) is an angelic creature mentioned several times in the Tanakh, or Old Testament, and in the Book of Revelation. ... A rock garden, also known as a rockery or an alpine garden, is a type of garden that features extensive use of rocks or stones, along with plants native to rocky or alpine environments. ... A Grotto is a small cave, usually near water and often flooded or liable to flood at high tide. ... The Witchs Finger in the Carlsbad Caverns A stalagmite (Greek stalagma, drip) is a type of speleothem formed by the deposit of calcium carbonate which rises from the floor of a limestone cave due to the dripping of mineralized solutions. ... Cupidon (French for Cupid) , by William-Adolphe Bouguereau, 1875 In Roman mythology, Cupid was the god of erotic love. ... Genera See article below. ...

From the entrance front's adjacent garden of topiarised box and bay trees a long grassed avenue enclosed by a tall beech hedge leads to the lily pool, this pool, originally created for skating, is the heart of a Monet style garden complete with a thatched summerhouse also designed by George Devey. This article is about the box tree. ... bay leaves The designation bay leaf (plural bay leaves) is shared by: Mediterranean bay leaf The leaf of the bay laurel or true laurel, Laurus nobilis, is a culinary herb often used to flavor soups, stews, and braises and pâtés in Mediterranean Cuisine. ... An avenue can mean any of the following: Most commonly, it refers to two parallel lines of trees specially planted as a landscape feature. ... Genera Calochortus Cardiocrinum Clintonia Erythronium Fritillaria Gagea Korolkowia Lilium Lloydia Nomocharis Notholirion Scoliopus Streptopus Tricyrtis Tulipa The Liliaceae, or the Lily Family, is an important family of monocotyledons that includes a great number of ornamental flowers as well as several important agricultural crops; the onion has traditionally been classified here... There are several varieties of Skating : Ice skating Inline skating Roller skating Skateboarding This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Giverny is a village in France. ... Thatching is the art or craft of covering a roof with vegetative materials such as straw, reed or sedge. ...

Ascott today

The approach to the principal entrance, lined by clipped bay trees

Ascott House with some of its important art collection, and a small part of the estate was given in 1947 to the National Trust by Anthony de Rothschild. However as at nearby Waddesdon Manor the Rothschild family retain a very close control over Ascott, the present resident of the house is the son of the donor Sir Evelyn de Rothschild. He has added further priceless works of art and ceramics to the collection, much of what is seen in the collection is still privately owned by the Rothschild family. Ascott House, Buckinghamshire photographed by uploader This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Ascott House, Buckinghamshire photographed by uploader This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... bay leaves The designation bay leaf (plural bay leaves) is shared by: Mediterranean bay leaf The leaf of the bay laurel or true laurel, Laurus nobilis, is a culinary herb often used to flavor soups, stews, and braises and pâtés in Mediterranean Cuisine. ... Although today the word art usually refers to the visual arts, the concept of what art is has continuously changed over centuries. ... 1947 was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is an organisation which works to preserve and protect coastline, countryside and buildings in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. ... Waddesdon Manor is a mansion at Waddesdon in Buckinghamshire, built between 1874 and 1889 for Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild (1839-1898) of the Rothschild banking dynasty, who was Member of Parliament for nearby Aylesbury. ...

Sir Evelyn de Rothschild has also expanded the estate, into one of the finest in Buckinghamshire. The estate contains many miles of new road-side tree planting, immaculate hedging, and cropping, and yet still retains some of the older permanent pasture and small fields which makes the countryside seem unspoilt. This is in spite of a major new road ploughing through the area between the house and its Stud Farm. Buckinghamshire (abbreviated Bucks) is a county in south central England. ... Horse breeding is the process of using selective breeding to produce additional individuals of a given phenotype, that is, continuing a breed. ...

Only open to the public a few afternoons each summer, Ascott possesses none of the attractions so often associated with the stately home industry, there is no public restaurant, or shop selling postcards, and certainly no zoo or miniature train, the guide book has been out of print for years, a new edition is frequently prophesied but at the time of writing (2005) has yet to appear. Thus the house retains very much the feel of a private house, which in effect it is. A stately home is, strictly speaking, one of about 500 large properties built in England between the mid-16th century and the early part of the 20th century, as well as converted abbeys and other church property (after the Dissolution of the Monasteries). ... For the computer diagnostic tool, see Postcard (computing). ... A zoo. ...

See also

• Rothschild properties in Buckinghamshire

Of all the landowners in the Buckinghamshire area, none have had more impact on the landscape than the de Rothschild family. ...

External links

Ascott House (http://www.ascottestate.co.uk/)

References

• Clifford Smith, H (1950). Country Life Magazine. London: Country Life.
• National Trust (1963). The Ascott collection. The National Trust.