page_title: Ashton Court
section_title: Recent history
hierarchical_section_title: Ashton Court / Recent history
caption_attribution_description: English: Leigh Woods - BS8 (N. Somerset)
context_page_description: Ashton Court is a mansion house and estate to the west of Bristol in England. Although the estate lies mainly in North Somerset, it is owned by the City of Bristol. The mansion and stables are a Grade I listed building. Other structures on the estate are also listed.
  Ashton Court has been the site of a manor house since the 11th century, and has been developed by a series of owners since then. From the 16th to 20th centuries it was owned by the Smyth family with each generation changing the house. Designs by Humphry Repton were used for the landscaping in the early 19th century. It was used as a military hospital in the First World War. In 1936 it was used as the venue for the Royal Show and, during the Second World War as an army transit camp. In 1946 the last of the Smyth family died and the house fell into disrepair before its purchase in 1959 by Bristol City Council.
  The estate developed from the original deer park and is Grade II* listed on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of special historic interest in England.
context_section_description: During the First World War the estate was used as a military hospital, and in the Second World War was requisitioned by the War Office and used in turn as a transit camp, RAF HQ and US Army Command HQ. The estate was the venue for the 1936 Royal Show. One of the exhibition buildings, despite its temporary nature, was an innovative piece of modernist architecture still remembered as the Gane Pavilion. It was designed by Bauhaus architect Marcel Breuer as a show house for the Bristol furniture manufacturer Crofton Gane. For most of the 20th century Ashton Court was the venue for the North Somerset Show, however this is now held in Wraxall.
  In 1946, the last resident of Ashton Court Dame Esme Smyth, died. After the house became derelict, it was taken over by the City in 1959. Restoration has been an ongoing process since then, but even after extensive investment by both the council and from Heritage Lottery Fund grants, presently only about a quarter of the building is occupied or usable. The available facilities of the house are rented out for business conferences, parties and weddings. In 2013 a fire damaged the northern wing. It was contained by Avon Fire and Rescue Service, otherwise the rest of the building would have been at risk.
  Between 1974–2007 the Ashton Court Festival was held in the grounds of the estate. The festival was a weekend event which featured a variety of local bands and national headliners. Mainly aimed at local residents, the festival did not have overnight camping facilities and was financed by donations and benefit gigs.
  Starting as a small one-day festival in 1974, the festival grew during succeeding years and was said to be Britain's largest free festival until changes brought on by government legislation resulted in compulsory fees and security fencing being introduced. After problems were caused by a temporary move to Hengrove Park in 2001, due to the foot and mouth crisis, and a washout in 2007, the organisers declared bankruptcy in 2007.
  The mansion house and stables have been designated by Historic England as a Grade I listed building. The house is listed on the Heritage at Risk Register and described as being in "slow decay". The lower lodge to Ashton Court and attached gates, railings and bollards, which were built in 1805 by Henry Wood, are Grade II* listed buildings. The lower lodge was fully refurbished in 2016 with funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund and is now named Ashton Gatehouse. The building is now a heritage site managed by Ashton Park School. The garden and perimeter walls and railings are also listed.
caption: The Clifton Lodge gate at the junction of the A369 and B3129
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