Street Ashton is a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

in the

Borough of Rugby The Borough of Rugby is a local government district with borough status in eastern Warwickshire, England. The borough comprises the town of Rugby where the council has its headquarters, and the rural areas surrounding the town. The borough has a ...

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, part of the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

Monks Kirby Monks Kirby is a village and civil parish in north-eastern Warwickshire, England. The population of the parish is 445. Monks Kirby is located around one mile east of the Fosse Way, around 8 miles north-west of Rugby, seven miles north-east of ...

. It is located near the towns of

Rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

and

Lutterworth Lutterworth is a market town and civil parish in the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England. The town is located in southern Leicestershire, close to the borders with Warwickshire and Northamptonshire. It is located north of Rugby, ...

. The hamlet is served by buses which connect it to

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...

, Hinckley, Rugby and Hillmorton. The nearest active railway station is

History

The

's name is

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

deriving from the personal name "Strudheard" or "Strodo" + "ton" (settlement). "Strudheard's ton" was later rephrased to Street Ashton, almost certainly because of the proximity of the

Fosse Way The Fosse Way was a Roman road built in Britain during the first and second centuries AD that linked Isca Dumnoniorum (Exeter) in the southwest and Lindum Colonia (Lincoln) to the northeast, via Lindinis (Ilchester), Aquae Sulis ( Bath), Corini ...

and nearby

Stretton-under-Fosse Stretton-under-Fosse is a village and civil parish in the English county of Warwickshire. In 2001 its population was recorded as 185, increasing to 234 at the 2011 Census. The village contains a number of old cottages along its main street. J ...

. The principal buildings in the Hamlet are Street Ashton Farm which was historically part of the estate of the

Earls of Denbigh Earl of Denbigh (pronounced 'Denby') is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1622 for William Feilding, 1st Viscount Feilding, a courtier, admiral, adventurer, and brother-in-law of the powerful Duke of Buckingham. The title is ...

, and two large residences, Street Ashton House and Ashton Lodge, now a

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...

Street Ashton House

Street Ashton House, an imposing, white house sits on a hill above the

and can be seen for several miles around. Formerly a

dower house A dower house is usually a moderately large house available for use by the widow of the previous owner of an English, Scottish or Welsh estate. The widow, often known as the "dowager", usually moves into the dower house from the larger family h ...

for the

, it was the residence (during the

Edwardian The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victori ...

era) of Major Walter Basil Louis Bonn who was decorated in the First World War and whose father owned the nearby

Newbold Revel Newbold Revel is an 18th-century country house in the village of Stretton-under-Fosse, Warwickshire, England. It is now used by HM Prison Service as a training college and is a Grade II* listed building. The house was built in 1716 for Sir Fulw ...

estate. In the 1950s and 60s Street Ashton House was owned by Spencer Wilks, Chairman of

Rover Rover may refer to: People * Constance Rover (1910–2005), English historian * Jolanda de Rover (born 1963), Dutch swimmer * Rover Thomas (c. 1920–1998), Indigenous Australian artist Places * Rover, Arkansas, US * Rover, Missouri, US * ...

and one of the inventors of the

Land Rover Land Rover is a British brand of predominantly four-wheel drive, off-road capable vehicles, owned by multinational car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), since 2008 a subsidiary of India's Tata Motors. JLR currently builds Land Rovers ...

. In 2007, Street Ashton House was donated to the Mater Ecclesiae

Convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

which had been based in

(see Monks Kirby Roman Catholic Community). The convent closed in 2020 and in early 2021 the house was sold by the Roman Catholic Church.

References

External links

*https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/warks/vol6/pp173-181 *https://www.ourwarwickshire.org.uk/content/article/warwickshires-biggest-family-monks-kirby Hamlets in Warwickshire {{Warwickshire-geo-stub