Ashton Gifford House
Encyclopedia
Ashton Gifford House is a Grade II listed building in the hamlet
Hamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...

 of Ashton Gifford, part of the civil parish
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...

 of Codford
Codford
Codford is a village and civil parish south of Salisbury Plain in the Wylye Valley in Wiltshire, England at .-Location:The village is on the A36 road between Salisbury and Warminster...

 in the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 county of Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...

. The house was built during the early 19th century, following the precepts of Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...

, and its estate eventually included all of the hamlet or tithing of Ashton Gifford. The house sits in the Wylye valley
River Wylye
The River Wylye is a classic southern England chalk stream; champagne clear water flowing over gravel. Consequently, it is popular with anglers keen on fly fishing.- Course :...

, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is an area of countryside considered to have significant landscape value in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, that has been specially designated by the Countryside Agency on behalf of the United Kingdom government; the Countryside Council for Wales on...

.

Early history

Ashton Gifford is covered in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...

, listed as land belonging to Humphrey de l'Isle. The land was held by Robert, previously (under King Edward) having been held by Cynewig. Ashton Gifford was a relatively prosperous estate, valued at six pounds (from four pounds in 1066). The estate consisted of 12 acres (48,562.3 m²) of meadow, and pasture "6 furlongs long and as much broad".

The site of the Anglo Saxon
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...

 settlement can be seen in the field to the south of the current Ashton Gifford House, where different patches of colour in the earth indicate the sites of Anglo Saxon houses.

There is reference to the manor being known as Ashton Dunstanville in the late 14th century.

The 1773 version of Andrews' and Dury's map of Wiltshire refers to Ashton Gifford as "Isherton". The map shows around eleven houses forming the tything or hamlet of Ashton Gifford.

The enclosure of Ashton Gifford

An Act of Enclosure
Enclosure
Enclosure or inclosure is the process which ends traditional rights such as mowing meadows for hay, or grazing livestock on common land. Once enclosed, these uses of the land become restricted to the owner, and it ceases to be common land. In England and Wales the term is also used for the...

 was passed for the "Tything of Ashton Gifford, in the Parish of Codford Saint Peter" on 27 May 1814. This allowed for the enclosure of lands in the hamlet, naming William Hubbard Esq., William Hinton Esq., and Sarah Bingham Spinster as the owners under the Lord of the Manor
Lord of the Manor
The Lordship of a Manor is recognised today in England and Wales as a form of property and one of three elements of a manor that may exist separately or be combined and may be held in moieties...

 of Codford St Peter (Harry Biggs Esq.). Three "gentlemen" were appointed Commissioners for the enclosure: John Hayward of Rowde
Rowde
Rowde is a village and civil parish in the English county of Wiltshire.-History:The village now mainly consists of modern brick built houses, but a number of 17th century buildings still remain in the centre of the village including the George & Dragon public house...

, John Rogers of Burcombe
Burcombe
Burcombe is a village and a civil parish in Wiltshire, England. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 149. The village lies each side of an unclassified road. The village is about 5 miles west of Salisbury city centre...

 and Ambrose Patient of Corton. The Commissioners were instructed to meet at "a certain House called the George Inn in Codford
Codford
Codford is a village and civil parish south of Salisbury Plain in the Wylye Valley in Wiltshire, England at .-Location:The village is on the A36 road between Salisbury and Warminster...

 Saint Peter aforesaid". The George still exists, as the George Hotel, in Codford
Codford
Codford is a village and civil parish south of Salisbury Plain in the Wylye Valley in Wiltshire, England at .-Location:The village is on the A36 road between Salisbury and Warminster...

 High Street, though it was rebuilt in the later 19th century.

Construction of Ashton Gifford House

The main house appears to have been built in two principal stages. The central part, of three storeys, has thick walls which were constructed as external walls and which now lie in between the central portion and the east and west wings of the property. It is surmised that this part of the property was constructed some time around 1806 by Benjamin Rebbeck, a local landowner who had purchased the property (including around 93 acres (376,358 m²) of land) from the estate of the Earl of Shrewsbury
Earl of Shrewsbury
Earl of Shrewsbury is a hereditary title of nobility created twice in the peerage of England.-First creation, 1074:The first creation occurred in 1074 for Roger de Montgomerie, one of William the Conqueror's principal counselors...

. Rebbeck lost the house to the mortgage holder in 1815 as a result of his spiralling debts, for which he was imprisoned in 1818, and the mortgage holder, William Hubbard, who is mentioned in the enclosure of Ashton Gifford, took possession of the house and added the two ashlar wings. William Hubbard appears to have been resident by May 1817 (at the latest). Hubbard also increased the size of the estate, to around 307 acres (1.2 km²).

The walled garden
Walled garden
A walled garden is specifically a garden enclosed by high walls for horticultural rather than security purposes, though traditionally all gardens have been hedged about or walled for protection from animal or human intruders...

, which appears to have been constructed around this time, and which is still a part of the property, lies to the west of the current house. It has been described as the largest in the county (at 1.3 acres). It was in active use as a vegetable garden as recently as the 1980s, when the house was a school (see below).

A servants' wing was added in the mid-19th century, extending west from the main house and providing kitchens, domestic offices and servants' accommodation. This was damaged by fire in the 1950s, and demolished in the early 1970s. The western most portion of the wing remains, and is now in use as garages.

Architecture of Ashton Gifford House

English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...

, in their Images of England section describe the property as having a limestone ashlar
Ashlar
Ashlar is prepared stone work of any type of stone. Masonry using such stones laid in parallel courses is known as ashlar masonry, whereas masonry using irregularly shaped stones is known as rubble masonry. Ashlar blocks are rectangular cuboid blocks that are masonry sculpted to have square edges...

 front with side walls of brick. The property is three-storied, with a three-window central block breaking forward and two-storey same-height side-bays. The main entrance is a Distyle in antis
Anta
An anta is an architectural term describing the posts or pillars on either side of a doorway or entrance of a Greek temple - the slightly projecting piers which terminate the walls of the naos.In contrast to pillars, they are directly connected with the walls of a temple...

 Tuscan portico
Portico
A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls...

 to the centre with inserted double half-glazed doors and flanking tripartite sashes, an inner main door with 6 fielded panels, fanlight
Fanlight
A fanlight is a window, semicircular or semi-elliptical in shape, with glazing bars or tracery sets radiating out like an open fan, It is placed over another window or a doorway. and is sometimes hinged to a transom. The bars in the fixed glazed window spread out in the manner a sunburst...

s and flanking margin-pane round-arched sashes with interlaced glazing bars. The ground floor of centre block has rusticated
Rustication (architecture)
thumb|upright|Two different styles of rustication in the [[Palazzo Medici-Riccardi]] in [[Florence]].In classical architecture rustication is an architectural feature that contrasts in texture with the smoothly finished, squared block masonry surfaces called ashlar...

 stonework. The first floor has three 9-pane sashes, and the second floor has a plat band and three 6-pane sashes. The two-storey side-bays have 8-pane margin sashes and a plat band. At the roof level there is a moulded cornice
Cornice
Cornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...

 to the plain stone parapet
Parapet
A parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony or other structure. Where extending above a roof, it may simply be the portion of an exterior wall that continues above the line of the roof surface, or may be a continuation of a vertical feature beneath the roof such as a...

 with 20th century pineapple decorations.

At the rear of the property there are two central bays which break forward with 12-pane sashes to ground floor, 9-pane to first and 6-pane sashes to second floor, side-bays have 8-pane margin sashes to ground and first floors. The interior features of the property that are highlighted by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...

 include the central entrance hall with an oval open-well staircase (which has a continuous handrail and cast-iron baluster
Baluster
A baluster is a moulded shaft, square or of lathe-turned form, one of various forms of spindle in woodwork, made of stone or wood and sometimes of metal, standing on a unifying footing, and supporting the coping of a parapet or the handrail of a staircase. Multiplied in this way, they form a...

s). Also noted are the presence of period doors, of six-panelled design, in panelled reveals
Reveal (carpentry)
In carpentry, a reveal is a feature resembling a rabbet, but constructed of separate pieces of wood. A reveal may typically be seen at the edge of a door or window, where the face molding is set back, often by a distance from 3/16" to 1/2" to reveal the edge of the casing plank.A "tight reveal"...

 and moulded architrave
Architrave
An architrave is the lintel or beam that rests on the capitals of the columns. It is an architectural element in Classical architecture.-Classical architecture:...

s, and the existence of period window shutters. On the ground floor, the drawing room has a scrolled plaster ceiling margin and a fireplace, which are singled out for special mention.

Ashton Gifford during the nineteenth century

William Hubbard, having completed the building of Ashton Gifford House some time between 1815 and 1824, had occupied it by 1817 and remained in residence until his death in 1831. One Henry Hubbard is recorded as having obtained a game license at Ashton Gifford in 1817 and in 1825. William Hubbard married three times. First, to Margaret Wilkinson in St.Petersburg by whom he had three children: Henry, Jane and William. Second, to Grace Powditch (in London), by whom he had three further children: Grace, Susannah and Elizabeth. Third to Jane Turner Ingram, with whom he lived at Ashton Gifford (there were no children from this marriage). William's brother was John Hubbard, of Forest House, Leyton
Leyton
Leyton is an area of north-east London and part of the London Borough of Waltham Forest, located north east of Charing Cross. It borders Walthamstow and Leytonstone; Stratford in Newham; and Homerton and Lower Clapton in the London Borough of Hackney....

). Around 10 of the old village houses were still standing in 1817, but these had been removed by the time in 1839. The only original village building to be retained was a 17th century cottage, which became the western (or Station) lodge house, now known as Ashton Cottage.

After Hubbard died in 1831, the trustees of his estate sold the property in 1834 to James Raxworthy. The house was then sold to Wadham Locke in 1836, who at the time of the 1841 census was living at Ashton Gifford House with his wife Caroline and daughter Charlotte. The estate at this stage amounted to some 364 acres (1.5 km²). In 1844 Locke married for a second time (Caroline having died in 1842). His new wife, Albinia, was the daughter of the landowner John Dalton (of Keningford Hall, Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...

 and Fillingham Castle
Fillingham
Fillingham is a village and civil parish in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 170. It is north of Lincoln just off the A15....

, Lincolnshire). Locke was formerly an officer in the first Dragoon Guards
Dragoon guards
Dragoon Guards was the designation used to refer to certain heavy cavalry regiments in the British Army from the 18th century onwards. While the Prussian and Russian armies of the same period included dragoon regiments amongst their respective Imperial Guards, different titles were applied to these...

, and went on to become High Sheriff of Wiltshire
High Sheriff of Wiltshire
This is a list of High Sheriffs of Wiltshire.Until the 14th century the shrievalty was held ex officio by the castellans of Old Sarum.-To 1400:*1066: Edric*1067-1070: Philippe de Buckland*1085: Aiulphus the Sheriff*1070–1105: Edward of Salisbury...

 in 1847 (he was occasionally described as being of "Ashton Giffard", the alternative spelling of the locale). Wadham Locke was a huntsman, purchasing a "famed" pack of foxhounds known as the "Headington Harriers" for "two seasons" from a Mr Jem Morrell, before selling them to Sir John Cam Hobhouse
John Hobhouse, 1st Baron Broughton
John Cam Hobhouse, 1st Baron Broughton GCB, PC, FRS , known as Sir John Hobhouse, Bt, from 1831 to 1851, was a British politician and memoirist.-Background and education:...

(later Lord Broughton). An account of hare coursing on the Ashton Gifford estate is given in the "Sporting Review" of 1840. Locke's father, also Wadham Locke (of Rowde Ford House), had been High Sheriff in 1804 and was Member of Parliament for Devizes
Devizes
Devizes is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. The town is about southeast of Chippenham and about east of Trowbridge.Devizes serves as a centre for banks, solicitors and shops, with a large open market place where a market is held once a week...

 in 1832. Wadham Locke I was the senior partner in the banking company of Locke, Hughes and Co of Devizes. Wadham Locke II's youngest sister (Wadham Locke I's youngest daughter) became Frances Isabella Duberly
Frances Isabella Duberly
Fanny Duberly was an adventurous soldier’s wife from the Crimean War and Sepoy Mutiny. Her husband, Captain Henry Duberly, was the paymaster to the 8th Royal Irish Hussars, part of the famed Light Brigade of Balaclava...

, who achieved notoriety for her presence with the army at the front line of the Crimean War
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...

. After her mother's death in 1838, she had lived with her brother at Ashton Gifford, until her marriage in 1845

In the mid-19th century there were some significant modifications to the property undertaken. The owners added a service wing to the western side of in the house, running between from the original Georgian structure towards the walled garden
Walled garden
A walled garden is specifically a garden enclosed by high walls for horticultural rather than security purposes, though traditionally all gardens have been hedged about or walled for protection from animal or human intruders...

. This wing contained the kitchens for the house (two in number), two dairies, pantries and store rooms, and servants' accommodation. The railway line linking Salisbury and Warminster, running to the south of the house, was constructed from 1854. This included the station close to the West Lodge (also known as Thatched Lodge or Station Lodge), providing rapid transport links for the Ashton Gifford Estate.

The Ravenhill family occupied Ashton Gifford House (sometimes known as Ashton House at this stage) from 1850 until the 1870s. John Ravenhill was a banker, the Chairman of the North Wiltshire Banking Company. As a Warminster
Warminster
Warminster is a town in western Wiltshire, England, by-passed by the A36, and near Frome and Westbury. It has a population of about 17,000. The River Were runs through the town and can be seen running through the middle of the town park. The Minster Church of St Denys sits on the River Were...

 magistrate he had read the Riot Act
Riot Act
The Riot Act was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain that authorised local authorities to declare any group of twelve or more people to be unlawfully assembled, and thus have to disperse or face punitive action...

 at Hindon
Hindon, Wiltshire
Hindon is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, about west of Salisbury and south of Warminster. It is in the Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Hindon was a market town but is now a village...

 during the riots of 1830 (this was before he took possession of Ashton Gifford). He served as the first Chairman of the Warminster Board of Guardians and was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the 10th company, Wiltshire Volunteer Rifle Corps at the end of May 1860. He was also a member of the Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society. John Ravenhill was Deputy Lieutenant
Deputy Lieutenant
In the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is one of several deputies to the Lord Lieutenant of a lieutenancy area; an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county, Scottish lieutenancy area, or Northern Irish county borough or county....

 of Wiltshire, and (in 1870) High Sheriff of Wiltshire
High Sheriff of Wiltshire
This is a list of High Sheriffs of Wiltshire.Until the 14th century the shrievalty was held ex officio by the castellans of Old Sarum.-To 1400:*1066: Edric*1067-1070: Philippe de Buckland*1085: Aiulphus the Sheriff*1070–1105: Edward of Salisbury...

. His eldest son, John Richard Ravenhill (1824–1894) was an engineer in the firm of Miller, Ravenhill and Co (Richard Ravenhill, brother of John Ravenhill of Ashton Gifford, was a founding partner). The third son was the Reverend Canon Henry Everett Ravenhill (died 1913). The fifth son, William Waldon Ravenhill, was a lawyer (called to the bar in April 1862). The family were actively involved in the Codford St Peter School, with John Ravenhill providing much of the funding. John Ravenhill died in 1878, aspparently having moved out of the house to London some time before his death

In the 1881 the house was occupied by George Clement, a race horse trainer, along with his family. Clement had achieved the notable success of the "autumn double" in 1876, when his horse "Rosebery" won the Cambridgeshire and Cesarewitch Handicap
Cesarewitch Handicap
The Cesarewitch Handicap is a flat horse race in Great Britain which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Newmarket over a distance of 2 miles and 2 furlongs , and the latter part is on the Rowley Mile. It is scheduled to take place each year in October.The event was...

s (the first of only three occasions when this has happened). However Clement appears to have been a tenant of John Richard Ravenhill, the engineer and eldest son of John Ravenhill.

By 1882 the house was sold by John Richard Ravenhill to Thomas Harding, a farmer, who occupied the house until his death in 1916. The establishment was somewhat reduced under Harding. While the Ravenhills had run the house with six indoor servants (in addition to the gardening, coach and farm staff), Harding had only three servants in the house.

The sale of 1920

The "Ashton Gifford Estate" was put up for sale by auction in 1920, on the "order of Captain H. N. Fane". Rawlence and Squarey were the auctioneers, and the auction took place at the White Hart Hotel, Salisbury
Salisbury
Salisbury is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England and the only city in the county. It is the second largest settlement in the county...

 on 1 June. Fane had purchased the property on the death of Harding in 1916 The house was described at this time as having sixteen bedrooms and dressing rooms and the "usual offices". The dining room (now kitchen) and drawing room did not have the French doors to the south terrace that they currently have. The estate included a bailiff
Bailiff
A bailiff is a governor or custodian ; a legal officer to whom some degree of authority, care or jurisdiction is committed...

's house, two lodges and two additional cottages and was described as "an attractive gentleman's residence.

The estate, of 60 acres (242,811.6 m²), included the "home farm", which was described as "grass and meadowland, lying in a ring fence". The proximity of Codford
Codford
Codford is a village and civil parish south of Salisbury Plain in the Wylye Valley in Wiltshire, England at .-Location:The village is on the A36 road between Salisbury and Warminster...

 station (on the Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...

 line) and the post and telegraph office are highlighted in the advertisement for sale.

From at least 1926 the house was occupied by Mrs Broughton Hawley. In 1928 the house was bought by a local farmer, Mr Dowding (of Smallbrook Farm, Warminster) who had speculated in property in the past for £3,100. He sold at a loss.

The 1930s and Lord Headley

By 1929 the house and land were auctioned by again, this time by Constable and Maude of London. The agents had attempted to sell the property beforehand, offering the house and land at £4,500 before going to auction "at a low reserve". The property was described as a "Residential and Sporting Estate", and at the time comprised 60 acres (242,811.6 m²) of park land. There was an ornamental lake, woodland, parkland and pasture, and a variety of estate buildings. The auction lot included stabling and garages (in the two former coach houses, which were advertised as accommodating up to six cars). There were also two lodge buildings: a main entrance lodge to the north east of the property (on the Codford High Street), and a "Station Lodge" with a thatched roof at the end of the south west drive, near the (now disused) Codford
Codford
Codford is a village and civil parish south of Salisbury Plain in the Wylye Valley in Wiltshire, England at .-Location:The village is on the A36 road between Salisbury and Warminster...

 station. The station was in fact part of the Ashton Gifford hamlet, some way to the south of Codford
Codford
Codford is a village and civil parish south of Salisbury Plain in the Wylye Valley in Wiltshire, England at .-Location:The village is on the A36 road between Salisbury and Warminster...

.

The estate was advertised as possessing a wide range of farm buildings, and a bailiff
Bailiff
A bailiff is a governor or custodian ; a legal officer to whom some degree of authority, care or jurisdiction is committed...

's farm house. The bailiff
Bailiff
A bailiff is a governor or custodian ; a legal officer to whom some degree of authority, care or jurisdiction is committed...

's accommodation was substantial, with three reception rooms in addition to the kitchen.

Ashton Gifford House itself was described as having twelve bedrooms and dressing rooms - though there was only one bathroom servicing the main house (on the first floor) with a ground floor "Gentleman's W.C.". There were separate (outside) facilities for the servants. On the ground floor of the property, along with the "Gentleman's W.C.", there was an entrance hall, dining room, library, and two sitting rooms. At this time the external front door to the house was positioned in the most easterly of the three bays of the entrance portico. The doorway was subsequently repositioned in the central bay, restoring the symmetrical appearance of the front of the house. The Georgian portion of the house had, at this time, additional chimney stacks - two on the eastern and two on the western outer walls, servicing the upper floors of the property. These four stacks were removed later, and only the four central chimney stacks remain. The pineapple roof decoration had yet to be added at this stage, and the roof was pitched throughout (currently only the central part of the roof is pitched, with the east and west wings having flat roofs).

In 1930 and 1931 H. T. Guest was listed as resident at Ashton Gifford House. The house was occupied from at least 1931 (until his death) by the Irish peer Lord Headley - Rowland Allanson-Winn, 5th Baron Headley
Rowland Allanson-Winn, 5th Baron Headley
thumb|Lord Headley with [[Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din]]Rowland George Allanson Allanson-Winn, 5th Baron Headley , also known as Shaikh Rahmatullah al-Farooq, was an Irish peer and a prominent convert to Islam, who was also one of the leading members of the Woking Muslim Mission alongside Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din...

. Lord Headley is sometimes referred to as the first Muslim peer of Britain (a misnomer, as he was actually the second). He was President of the British Muslim Society, and died in 1935. Lord Headley's widow (his third wife), Lady Catharine Headley (née Lovibond), continued living at Ashton Gifford House until 1940.

Ashton Gifford House as a school

In 1940 Greenways Preparatory School was evacuated from Bognor Regis
Bognor Regis
Bognor Regis is a seaside resort town and civil parish in the Arun district of West Sussex, on the south coast of England. It is south-south-west of London, west of Brighton, and south-east of the city of Chichester. Other nearby towns include Littlehampton east-north-east and Selsey to the...

, Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...

 to Ashton Gifford House, and the property became a school. The poet Adrian Mitchell
Adrian Mitchell
Adrian Mitchell FRSL was an English poet, novelist and playwright. A former journalist, he became a noted figure on the British anti-authoritarian Left. For almost half a century he was the foremost poet of the country's anti-Bomb movement...

attending the school (which was run by Vivien Hancock, a friend of his mother) during the 1940s. The poet Siegfried Sassoon's
Siegfried Sassoon
Siegfried Loraine Sassoon CBE MC was an English poet, author and soldier. Decorated for bravery on the Western Front, he became one of the leading poets of the First World War. His poetry both described the horrors of the trenches, and satirised the patriotic pretensions of those who, in Sassoon's...

son, George
George Sassoon
George Thornycroft Sassoon was a British scientist, electronic engineer, linguist, translator and author.-Early life:...

, also attended Greenways in mid 1940s. The school was a conveniently short distance from Heytesbury
Heytesbury
Heytesbury is a village in Wiltshire, England, in the Wylye Valley, about three miles south of Warminster.-History:...

, where Sassoon lived. Siegried Sassoon was a close friend of Vivien Hancock (giving her a present of a horse when her own died). Sassoon's wife, Hester, accused Sassoon and Hancock of being "too close" in 1945, and Vivien Hancock eventually threatened legal action against her. Vivien's own son, Anthony, was killed (aged 21)
in 1945 on the Western Front in France. When Vivien Hancock needed money to purchase the school outright, it was Sassoon who lent her the £8,000 she required (and who then waived the low rate of interest when Vivien Hancock had difficulty meeting it). The politician and author Ferdinand Mount
Ferdinand Mount
Sir William Robert Ferdinand Mount, 3rd Baronet , usually known as Ferdinand Mount, is a British writer and novelist, columnist for The Sunday Times and commentator on politics, and Conservative Party politician...

was briefly a student at Greenways in the 1950s.

Around 1942 the British artist Keith Vaughan
Keith Vaughan
John Keith Vaughan was a British painter.Born in Selsey, Vaughan attended Christ's Hospital school. He worked in an advertising agency until the war, when as a conscientious objector he joined the St John's Ambulance. In 1941 he was conscripted into the Non-Combatant Corps. Vaughan was self-taught...

was stationed with the Royal Pioneer Corps
Royal Pioneer Corps
The Royal Pioneer Corps was a British Army combatant corps used for light engineering tasks.The Royal Pioneer Corps was raised on 17 October 1939 as the Auxiliary Military Pioneer Corps. It was renamed the Pioneer Corps on 22 November 1940...

 in Codford, and painted "The Wall at Ashton Gifford" (now in the possession of the Manchester Art Gallery). The walled garden at Ashton Gifford were painted in "The Garden at Ashton Gifford" (1944) and "Tree felling at Ashton Gifford" (1942–43). Vaughan described the garden as an "oceanic surging of tangled nettles", with "waist high grass", the wall covered in a "jungle of weed and ivy". Keith Vaughan's "The Working Party", drawn in 1942, has also been tentatively set at Ashton Gifford.

There was a fire at Ashton Gifford House during the late 1940s which partially destroyed the Victorian era service wing of the property. Vivien Hancock blamed this on an "electrical fault", though this has been disputed. Greenaways School remained in possession until the late 1960s, when the school closed.

In 1969 planning permission was granted to Harrods Estate Offices to convert the house into three separate flats, which appears not to have been acted upon. By August of the same year the property was acquired by Mr. R. S. Ferrand, who renovated the house as a single family dwelling. The work was completed in 1972. In the late 1970s the house was occupied by S Cardale. In 1982, however, Ashton Gifford House became a school for boys with behavioural problems (trading as Ashton Gifford School in the 1980s). This finally closed in 1989, and ownership was transferred to a charitable trust.

Reversion to private dwelling

In 1992 Ashton Gifford House was sold, and planning permission was granted to convert it back to a private residence. The Codford
Codford
Codford is a village and civil parish south of Salisbury Plain in the Wylye Valley in Wiltshire, England at .-Location:The village is on the A36 road between Salisbury and Warminster...

 by-pass (the A36 road
A36 road
The A36 is a trunk road and primary route in England that links the port city of Southampton to the city of Bath. At Bath, the A36 connects with the A4 road to Bristol, thus enabling a road link between the major ports of Southampton and Bristol. Originally, the A36 continued onto Avonmouth, but...

) was built through the northern-most part of the property in the mid-1990s, shortening the drive. (George Sassoon
George Sassoon
George Thornycroft Sassoon was a British scientist, electronic engineer, linguist, translator and author.-Early life:...

 was to unsuccessfully fight a similar encroachment of his father's estate at Heytesbury
Heytesbury
Heytesbury is a village in Wiltshire, England, in the Wylye Valley, about three miles south of Warminster.-History:...

). This required some of the agricultural land and woodland to be sold to the Department of Transport. The east drive for Ashton Gifford House now emerges onto Sherrington Lane, while the west drive continues its origninal link with Ashton Gifford Lane (prior to the breakup of the estate, Ashton Gifford Lane made up the complete length of the west drive, terminating at the Thatched or Station Lodge on Station Road). By 1992, all of the farm buildings and lodges had been sold as private dwellings, and the land associated with the house was reduced to some 10.5 acres (42,492 m²).
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