Ashridge House: Grade I listed house hosts first sculpture trail

A Grade I listed house is hosting its first sculpture exhibition as its gardens open every day in the summer for the first time.

Forty five artworks will be on display in 190 acres of Grade II listed gardens around Ashridge House in Hertfordshire.

They include work from 15 artists including Diane Maclean and Giles Penny.

A spokeswoman said it was a "natural evolution" for the house as it worked to get visitors to make return visits.

Ashridge House, near Berkhamsted, was once the home of Henry VIII and has an oak tree planted by Queen Victoria.

This is the first time the gardens - originally designed by Humphry Repton in 1813 for the Earl and Countess of Bridgewater - have opened every day in the summer and it is hoped that if people come to this exhibition, they will return.

The Sculpture Garden is a celebration of contemporary and traditional art by acclaimed and emerging living sculptors, that "explore the natural world and our place within it", organisers said.

They include a new work, Crown of Leaves, designed for the house's Fernery by local sculptor and environmental artist Diane Maclean.

Other artists include Jenny Pickford, whose latest work Super Nature will be at Ashridge direct from Glastonbury and Penny Hardy, whose piece Sculpture for Change: Don't Blow Their Futures, is raising money for UNICEF by inviting people to name it for a donation.

The person whose title is chosen will win the sculpture.

Curator, Lucy Irvine, said the sculptures are "looking at the environmental world and where we sit in nature", and they also "reflect the history of the house and its different humanitarian uses".

"I looked for people who worked in stone, metal and natural elements to reflect the history of the house... but all in some form were chosen to have resonance with Ashridge," she said.

Ms Irvine added the "completely variety" of artworks would "give the audience a chance to like and dislike".

"This is such a magnificent place and they've never brought art in before like this, so it's a gentle introduction and I hope it will make people think a bit," she said.

The exhibition is the latest in a series of events as the estate widens its offering to help meet the running costs.

Head of events, Lucy Le Gassike, said it was another "part of our natural evolution journey as we open up as a visitor destination".

"Our focus this year is to get people to keep coming back and this is a launch pad for that", she said.

The Sculpture Garden can be seen at Ashridge House until 24 September.

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