- Ascott, Buckinghamshire
Infobox UK place
country = England
official_name= Ascott
static_
static_image_caption= Ascott House
latitude= 51.897656
longitude= -0.705329
civil_parish= Wing
shire_district=Aylesbury Vale
shire_county=Buckinghamshire
region= South East England
constituency_westminster= Buckingham
post_town= LEIGHTON BUZZARD
postcode_district= LU7
postcode_area= LU
dial_code= 01525
os_grid_reference= SP8922Ascott is a hamlet and
country house in theparish of Wing,Buckinghamshire ,England .The hamlet lies completely within the boundary of the Ascott Estate; it is home to many of the estate and house staff.
Prior to the
Norman Conquest there was anabbey at Ascott, that had been given by a royal to aBenedictine convent in Angiers. In 1415 however, the same year as theBattle of Agincourt , the convent was seized by the English church because it belonged to the French and awarded to the Convent of St Mary du Pre, nearSt Albans .In the early 16th century the abbey (along with the manor of Wing) was seized by
the Crown and given toCardinal Wolsey , however not long after it was seized once again in theDissolution of the Monasteries and given to Lord Dormer. It was in 1554 that Dormer entertained Princess Elizabeth at the house, when she was on the road toLondon under arrest as aProtestant because her sister Mary had just taken the throne.The former abbey, now a house, itself once featured additions that were attributed to
Inigo Jones . The house fell into decay following the death without heir of its owner theEarl of Caernarvon in 1709. In 1727 the house and estate were broken up, the deer sold and all the timber cut down and sold off. In the late 19th century members of the Rothschild banking family began to acquire estates in the area, including Ascott. In 1873 a farm house in the parish known as Ascott Hall was bought by Baron Mayer de Rothschild he gave it to his nephewLeopold de Rothschild who employed the architectGeorge Devey to enlarge the property into a substantial country house. Today this is the National Trust property known asAscott House or sometimes known more simply as just "Ascott".
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