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16th August 2017

The season of mists and mellow fruitfulness begins as the Harvest is gathered in. All over Northamptonshire the bounty of nature will be celebrated with Harvest thanksgiving as the hedgerows burst with berries and fruits. Nowadays we forget how important these nutritious gifts of nature were to survival through a hard winter. September is a wonderful month to reconnect with our past and to explore our county’s heritage. This month I will be celebrating the harvest at one of the county’s most ancient places, Canons Ashby.

Hidden in a rolling landscape studded with Bronze Age tumuli, the origins of the settlement at Ashby are lost in the mists of time. Field walkers discover Roman and Iron Age pottery fragments in nearby fields, and geophysics and LIDAR surveys reveal tantalizing glimpses of features that might indicate a Roman settlement, or possibly a Saxon hall, lying quietly under the mediaeval fields contoured with ridge and furrow. The mounds in the nearby field reveal the deserted mediaeval village, and the ancient red brick and toffee coloured ironstone buildings hint at a rich history inviting explorers.

The earliest record of settlement here is found in 1086 AD in the Domesday book, which records sixteen households in the village of Essebi (Ashby). The village sprawled alongside the important mediaeval route still known today as Banbury Lane, linking the town to Northampton. The large mound adjacent may well be a Norman motte and bailey castle from the same period.

Good transportation links probably influenced the Augustinian Canons looking for somewhere to establish a priory nearly 900 years ago. They built a magnificent church at Ashby, dominating the landscape until Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries in 1536. The estate passed into private hands, eventually becoming the property of John Dryden from Cumbria through marriage to Elizabeth Cope in 1551. Together they and their son Erasmus built a mansion house, the footprint and layout of which has hardly changed since its completion around 1600, apart from a modest modernisation in the eighteenth century.

The house remained the main residence of the Drydens until after the First World War, and they still return regularly to their ancient family home. In 1981 the Drydens gave the property into the care of the National Trust. Now everyone who wishes to visit is welcome to this most English of estates. September is a wonderful month as the bustle of the school holidays is over, and the gardens have reached mature autumnal beauty. Traditional harvest and craft activities happen every weekend in September, with lots to enjoy. And of course, no visit is complete without a visit to the Stables Tearoom to enjoy the seasonal spiced apple cake, my favourite!

A visit to this ancient sequestered landscape transports us away from today’s hustle and bustle. There is peace and tranquility to be found in this corner of Northamptonshire, qualities most appreciated by the team of over 250 volunteers who help the National Trust run this special place.

For more information about visiting Canons Ashby and the harvest happenings during September, visit www.nationaltrust.org.uk/canonsashby

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