Ashburnham and What is Left Behind
Ashburnham Place, East Sussex, 1959
The 17th century structure (built on the cellars of a 15th century building) largely rebuilt in a Neo-Palladian style in the 18th century, with neo-Gothic additions in brick in the early 19th century, the whole refaced in stone at a later date and then refaced a further time in brick in 1853.
Largely demolished 1959.
Postcard view, collection of the author
Ashburnham was home to the Ashburnham family from the 12th century. When the Earldom became extinct on the death of Thomas Ashburnham, 6th Earl of Ashburnham, in 1924, the house was inherited by his niece, Lady Catherine Ashburnham. Damaged when a Marauder bomber crashed nearby during the Second World War and dry rot set in, the estate was inherited by Rev. John Bickersteth on Lady Catherine's death in 1953. The contents of the house were sold at auction at Sotheby's in June and July 1953 to pay the death duties, and the house was mostly pulled down in 1959, reducing the central section to two floors and the wings to a single story. Ashburnham is now a Christian prayer and conference center.
Algernon Charles Swinburne's mother was Lady Jane Henrietta, daughter of the 3rd Earl of Ashburnham.
You probably have the 6 volume set of the poems of Swinburne published in London by Chatto & Windus, 1904.
The lakes and grounds designed by Capability Brown still remain, (as does Humphry Repton's work at Panshanger), but I'm not sure it wouldn't be better sometimes to pull the whole place down, rather than leaving just enough behind to let you know what was lost, don't you think?
A friend is going to London so I gave him a copy of something sensational [Buy It Here] to read on the trip with the understanding that he will shamelessly promote it and leave it behind for his English hosts for them to read and in general help pump up UK sales. "Not leave it behind on the plane?" he asked. "Lots of people do that."
What is it about people reading and traveling? Another friend said she was going to read my book just as soon as she went on a trip. "The sooner the better," I urged her. "Otherwise my fame will be posthumous."
"The sooner the better," she replied.
I am of two minds about remnants of great houses left standing merely to tantalize.
The infuriated "all or nothing" side says "How dare they pull ANY part of a house like that down."
The more practical and grateful side says "Be thankful there is anything left at all. At least one can get an idea of what was there".
This thought process is commonly referred to as schizophrenia.
ABM
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