Ashton Gifford House - Ashton Gifford During The Nineteenth Century

Ashton Gifford During The Nineteenth Century

William Hubbard, having completed the building of Ashton Gifford House some time between 1815 and 1824, had occupied it by 1817 and remained in residence until his death in 1831. One Henry Hubbard is recorded as having obtained a game license at Ashton Gifford in 1817 and in 1825. William Hubbard married three times. First, to Margaret Wilkinson in St.Petersburg by whom he had three children: Henry, Jane and William. Second, to Grace Powditch (in London), by whom he had three further children: Grace, Susannah and Elizabeth. Third to Jane Turner Ingram, with whom he lived at Ashton Gifford (there were no children from this marriage). William's brother was John Hubbard, of Forest House, Leyton). Around 10 of the old village houses were still standing in 1817, but these had been removed by the time in 1839. The only original village building to be retained was a 17th-century cottage, which became the western (or Station) lodge house, now known as Ashton Cottage.

After Hubbard died in 1831, the trustees of his estate sold the property in 1834 to James Raxworthy. The house was then sold to Wadham Locke in 1836, who at the time of the 1841 census was living at Ashton Gifford House with his wife Caroline and daughter Charlotte. The estate at this stage amounted to some 364 acres (1.47 km2). In 1844 Locke married for a second time (Caroline having died in 1842). His new wife, Albinia, was the daughter of the landowner John Dalton (of Keningford Hall, Yorkshire and Fillingham Castle, Lincolnshire). Locke was formerly an officer in the first Dragoon Guards, and went on to become High Sheriff of Wiltshire in 1847 (he was occasionally described as being of "Ashton Giffard", the alternative spelling of the locale). Wadham Locke was a huntsman, purchasing a "famed" pack of foxhounds known as the "Headington Harriers" for "two seasons" from a Mr Jem Morrell, before selling them to Sir John Cam Hobhouse (later Lord Broughton). An account of hare coursing on the Ashton Gifford estate is given in the "Sporting Review" of 1840. Locke's father, also Wadham Locke (of Rowde Ford House), had been High Sheriff in 1804 and was Member of Parliament for Devizes in 1832. Wadham Locke I was the senior partner in the banking company of Locke, Hughes and Co of Devizes. Wadham Locke II's youngest sister (Wadham Locke I's youngest daughter) became Frances Isabella Duberly, who achieved notoriety for her presence with the army at the front line of the Crimean War. After her mother's death in 1838, she had lived with her brother at Ashton Gifford, until her marriage in 1845

In the mid-19th century there were some significant modifications to the property undertaken. The owners added a service wing to the western side of in the house, running between from the original Georgian structure towards the walled garden. This wing contained the kitchens for the house (two in number), two dairies, pantries and store rooms, and servants' accommodation. The railway line linking Salisbury and Warminster, running to the south of the house, was constructed from 1854. This included the station close to the West Lodge (also known as Thatched Lodge or Station Lodge), providing rapid transport links for the Ashton Gifford Estate.

The Ravenhill family occupied Ashton Gifford House (sometimes known as Ashton House at this stage) from 1850 until the 1870s. John Ravenhill was a banker, the Chairman of the North Wiltshire Banking Company. As a Warminster magistrate he had read the Riot Act at Hindon during the riots of 1830 (this was before he took possession of Ashton Gifford). He served as the first Chairman of the Warminster Board of Guardians and was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the 10th company, Wiltshire Volunteer Rifle Corps at the end of May 1860. He was also a member of the Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society. John Ravenhill was Deputy Lieutenant of Wiltshire, and (in 1870) High Sheriff of Wiltshire. His eldest son, John Richard Ravenhill (1824–1894) was an engineer in the firm of Miller, Ravenhill and Co (Richard Ravenhill, brother of John Ravenhill of Ashton Gifford, was a founding partner). The third son was the Reverend Canon Henry Everett Ravenhill (died 1913). The fifth son, William Waldon Ravenhill, was a lawyer (called to the bar in April 1862). The family were actively involved in the Codford St Peter School, with John Ravenhill providing much of the funding. John Ravenhill died in 1878, aspparently having moved out of the house to London some time before his death

In the 1881 the house was occupied by George Clement, a race horse trainer, along with his family. Clement had achieved the notable success of the "autumn double" in 1876, when his horse "Rosebery" won the Cambridgeshire and Cesarewitch Handicaps (the first of only three occasions when this has happened). However Clement appears to have been a tenant of John Richard Ravenhill, the engineer and eldest son of John Ravenhill.

By 1882 the house was sold by John Richard Ravenhill to Thomas Harding, a farmer, who occupied the house until his death in 1916. The establishment was somewhat reduced under Harding. While the Ravenhills had run the house with six indoor servants (in addition to the gardening, coach and farm staff), Harding had only three servants in the house.