Berkhamsted, Ashridge College c.1965

Photo ref: B407095

More about this scene

Already an offer had been made by a syndicate to buy the entire estate. There was no time to be lost. An anonymous offer of £20,000 had been received, which would enable part of the land to be bought for the National Trust. A petition organised locally was sent to the Prime Minister, Stanley Baldwin, appealing for funds. In October 1925 a letter signed by Stanley Baldwin, Ramsay McDonald, Lord Grey of Falloden and Lord Asquith supporting proposals to acquire Ashridge Park for the National Trust appeared in The Times. An appeal for funds was launched, and by the middle of November £40,000 had been raised. 1,700 acres were purchased by the Trust, and in the following year a further 165 acres. Meanwhile the local MP, Lord Davidson, had been using his influence in high places. In June 1928 it was disclosed that the house and 235 acres had been purchased for the Conservative Party as an educational and political training centre, ensuring the preservation of the mansion and the beautiful gardens, which we still enjoy to this day. Thus the Bonar Law Memorial College came into being, a residential college for the study of social and political science. Its Board of Governors was later widened to include leading representatives of industry.