Ascott House

Over het museum

Ascott began as a farmhouse called Ascott Hall, built in the reign of James I; a beam above the front door carries the date 1606. In 1873 Baron Mayer Amschel de Rothschild bought the property and gave it to his nephew Leopold de Rothschild, who first used it as a hunting lodge. In 1874 Leopold employed the architect George Devey to enlarge it, and the house was extended almost continuously until the 1930s. The result is an informal half-timbered building that mixes cottage and Tudor Revival styles.

Leopold's son Anthony inherited Ascott in 1937. He and his wife Yvonne enlarged the house further and created much of its present interior. Around 1902 Leopold had the gardens laid out, with advice from Sir Harry Veitch, as a wedding present for his wife. They include a Venus fountain by Thomas Waldo Story and a topiary sundial.

The Rothschilds filled the house with an important art collection. The entrance hall holds works by Gainsborough, Romney and Reynolds as well as Stubbs's Five Mares, and the dining room has small, mainly Dutch paintings of the 16th and 17th centuries. There is blue Chinese porcelain in the drawing room and a large collection of 18th-century English furniture. Anthony de Rothschild gave the house, part of the art collection and a small part of the estate to the National Trust in 1947. The house still feels like a private home.

Hoogtepunten

• Rothschild collection of English and Dutch paintings, including Stubbs's Five Mares
• Blue Chinese porcelain and 18th-century English furniture
• Half-timbered house by George Devey, extended until the 1930s
• More than 30 acres of landscaped gardens with views across the Aylesbury Vale
• Venus fountain and topiary sundial

Vaste collectie

• Rothschild art collections – The house displays English and Dutch paintings, Chinese porcelain and 18th-century furniture collected by the Rothschild family.

Beheerder

National Trust

Toegangsprijzen & kortingen

The price of £12.95 is for the Gardens ticket, which includes the gardens and the Pavilion Tea Room; the House and Collection needs a separate ticket. National Trust members enter free. Ascott does not accept National Trust gift vouchers or family passes.

Toegankelijkheid

• Deels rolstoeltoegankelijk
• Lift: geen informatie
• Aangepast toilet
• Gehandicaptenparkeerplaats
• Hulphonden welkom
• Tastmodellen / voelbare objecten: geen informatie
• Rondleidingen in gebarentaal: geen informatie
• Informatie in eenvoudige taal: geen informatie
• Audiodescriptie: geen informatie

A ramp leads into the house and the tea room, and a wheelchair is available at the house entrance on a first-come basis for use inside the house only. The gardens have uneven gravel paths, grass paths, steps and steep slopes, although many paths are level. It is about 400 metres from the car park to the house, and a volunteer-run buggy takes visitors between the car park and the house and gardens on most days. Power mobility vehicles are allowed in the gardens. There are accessible parking spaces and an accessible toilet in the Main Gate car park. Seating is provided at regular intervals in the gardens. Only assistance dogs are allowed on site.

Kinderen & gezin

• Gezinsrondleidingen & workshops
• Verschoonruimte

Children under 5 are free but need a ticket so that the estate can manage visitor numbers. The seasonal programme includes family activities and trails. There is a baby changing facility in the Main Gate car park toilets.

Bereikbaarheid & parkeren

The house is half a mile east of Wing and 2 miles south-west of Leighton Buzzard, on the south side of the A418. For the visitor entrance, satellite navigation should be set to Visitors Entrance, Wing, near Leighton Buzzard (LU7 0PP). The journey takes about 90 minutes from central London and Birmingham and 15 minutes from the M1.

Service & horeca

• Café
• Museumwinkel

The Pavilion Tea Room (not run by the National Trust) serves light lunches and refreshments from 11:30 to 16:45. A small shop sells gifts and local products, a book nook sells pre-loved books, and plants grown by the garden team are sold at the entrance kiosk. Toilets, including an accessible toilet with baby changing, are in the Main Gate car park near the tea room.

Evenementen & zaalverhuur

Het museum heeft hierover geen informatie gepubliceerd.

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