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Summary

The earliest English College of Bonhommes, founded in 1283; the undercroft, well, and barn survive

Monument Types

• MONASTERY (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1500 AD)

Associated Events

• Evaluation of land SW of Ashridge House, Berkhamsted, 1999 (Ref: ASC/M/ALG99/3)
• Geophysical survey of the south lawn at Ashridge College, 2010-11
• Evaluation on the south lawn at Ashridge College, 2010
• Evaluation on the south lawn at Ashridge College, 2011

Protected Status

• Area of Archaeological Significance 28
• Listed Building (I)
• Registered Park or Garden 24

Full description

Site of the earliest English college of Bonhommes, founded in 1283; incorporated into the early 19th century Ashridge House [1074]. Endowed by Black Prince in 1376 with twenty monks in residence; dissolved in 1539 <1, 6>. All that remains is the undercroft, monastic well and tithe barn. The undercroft lies below parts of the anteroom and drawing rooms. It is built of Totternhoe stone and probably dates to the 14th century. The tithe barn, dated c.1480-1500, has been substantially altered <2>.
Evaluation SW of the house in 1999 did not reveal anything relating to pre-19th century use of the site <3>.
Ashridge became a seat of the Dukes of Bridgewater and was largely rebuilt in the early 1800s. In the cellar is the wellhead gear, c.1808, over the medieval well, 224 feet deep. Two donkeys turned an inverted crown wheel driving a crankshaft through bevel gear; the donkeys were stabled in an adjoining room <4>.
Part of the eastern perimeter wall of the post-medieval house appears to be medieval in origin <7, 8, 9>. The wall was apparently of Totternhoe stone on a flint base laid in clay, and pieces of carved Totternhoe stone blocks were found in evaluation of this wall in 2010 <8>. A drainage channel was also found, and pieces of medieval Penn floor tile (AD 1340-90).
Work on the south lawn in 2011 revealed substantial medieval masonry foundations, including a buttress, and rubble of roof tile, flint, Totternhoe stone, floor tiles, and plaster. The foundations could not, however, be related to Grey's 1762 plan of the buildings which were demolished in 1804; they had evidently disappeared before 1762. They could have supported a large building, perhaps the priory church which appears to have been demolished during the reign of Elizabeth <10>.

Listed Buildings description (Digital archive). SHT6690.

Pevsner, N, & Cherry, B, 1977, Buildings of England: Hertfordshire (2nd edition), - p237-40 (Bibliographic reference). SHT7257.

Coult, D, 1979, Ashridge (Bibliographic reference). SHT2740.

Doggett, Nick, 2001, The demolition and conversion of former monastic buildings in post-dissolution Hertfordshire; IN Graham Keevill, Mick Aston & Teresa Hall (eds), Monastic archaeology: papers on the study of medieval monasteries, 165-74 (Article in monograph). SHT9587.

<1> Knowles & Hadcock, 1953, Medieval religious houses, - p179 (Bibliographic reference). SHT6444.

<2> 1905, VCH Buckinghamshire, vol.I, - p386-7 (Bibliographic reference). SHT2741.

<3> Zeepvat, Bob, 1999, An archaeological evaluation of land to the south-west of Ashridge House, Berkhamsted, Herts, RNO 595 (Report). SHT2428.

<4> Smith, Tim, & Carr, Bob, 2004, A guide to the industrial archaeology of Hertfordshire and the Lea valley (Bibliographic reference). SHT2334.

<5> Zeepvat, Bob, 1999, An archaeological desk-based assessment of Monks Barn and land to the south-west of Ashridge House, Berkhamsted, Herts, RNO 596 (Report). SHT2429.

<6> Doggett, Nicholas, 1991, The demolition and conversion of former monastic buildings in Hertfordshire at the Dissolution; IN Doris Jones-Baker (ed), Hertfordshire in history: papers presented to Lionel Munby; 45-64, - p55-6 (Article in monograph). SHT2117.

<7> Sparks, Brendon, & Wallis, Ken, 2010, Ashridge College: interim report, RNO 2778 (Report). SHT3227.

<8> Sparks, Brendon, & Wallis, Ken, 2010, Ashridge College: second interim report, RNO 2779 (Report). SHT3230.

<9> Sparks, Brendon, & Wallis, Ken, 2011, Ashridge College: third interim report (report on excavation and additional resistivity survey), RNO 2780 (Report). SHT3261.

<10> Sparks, B A, & Wallis, K, 2011, Ashridge College interim report 4, RNO 3145 (Report). SHT7628.

Sources and further reading

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