Ashridge is an estate and house in Hertfordshire, England; part of the land stretches into Buckinghamshire and it is close to the Bedfordshire border. It is situated in the Chiltern Hills, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, about two miles north of Berkhamsted and twenty miles north west of London. Surrounding villages include Aldbury, Pitstone, Ivinghoe, Little Gaddesden, Nettleden, and Potten End.
The estate comprises 20 square kilometres (5,000 acres) of woodlands (known as Ashridge Forest), commons and chalk downland which supports a rich variety of wildlife. It also offers a good choice of waymarked walks through outstanding country.
It should not be confused with Asheridge, which is a hamlet about five miles south-west, the other side of Berkhamsted.

Ashridge Priory
From 1604 to 1848 the estate was the property of the Dukes and Earls of Bridgewater (the Egerton family). The Bridgewater Monument was built in memory of the 3rd Duke, Francis Egerton, the "father of inland navigation" with a view to the Grand Union Canal. The monument contains a narrow spiral staircase of 170 steps and is open to the public.
In 1848 the estate passed to the Earls Brownlow, another strand of the Egerton family.

The Egerton Family

Main article: Ashridge Business School Use in Films
Part of the estate became Ashridge Golf Club in 1932, and had Henry Cotton as its club professional in the late 1930s, including his most successful year 1937.

Further reading

Ashridge Priory
Ashridge Business School