Foreword (by Lieut. Col. Alfred Burne)

This is Ashridge - Introduction

The Monastery

The Royal Residence

The Manor House and The Mansion

The College

The Hospital

The College after the War

Foreword (by Lieut. Col. Alfred Burne)

The Bonar Law College of Ashridge - to give it its full title, for it still enshrines the memory of a wise and patriotic statesman without whose existence the College would not exist - has an aura of its own and it is not necessary to be psychic to sense it. Largely this is due to the sagacity and the kindly yet compelling personality of its first Principal, Sir Reginald Hoskins, who set his face resolutely against narrow party politics, but stressed those wider principles of citizenship that have been carried on by succeeding Principals.

This aura has its roots in the past, centuries of good citizenship, exemplified by those good men the Bonhommes, who seem to have left a permanent mark on the "atmosphere" of the place, and the subsequent history of Ashridge relates it closely to the history of the country.

The chief merit of this little book is, I feel, that Captain Gordon depicts and accentuates this historical tradition which has created the essential continuity of Ashridge, a continuity for which, during these last twenty years, the author has been so largely responsible.

I recommend newcomers to Ashridge, on their first free afternoon, instead of dashing off to visit some place of infinitely less interest and richness, to stroll round the beautiful gardens, book in hand, dipping every now and then into its absorbingly interesting pages; or, helped by the photographs thoughtfully provided, to seek out the sole remaining ash tree that still gives its name to our Ash Ridge.

It will be an afternoon well spent.

Lieut. Col. Alfred Burne

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