Ascott Park was once the home of the Dormers, one of the great families of Oxfordshire.
Their manor house has long since vanished and a grand new house built by William Dormer in 1662 burned to the ground just as it was finished.
You can walk this historical trail, with the help of information points on the map and speculate where the site of the 1662 house may have been. Archaeological excavations in 1969, 2009 and 2018 sought to find the whereabouts of the manor house but its exact location is still in doubt.
In following the trail you may puzzle about what may have happened and why. You will also see the dovecot associated with the manor house and a garden pavilion possibly later used as an ice house and granary. These were set in attractive parkland with Lime tree avenues and fish ponds. The original gate piers at the end of one avenue also survive and have been recently restored by Oxfordshire County Council, the owners of the site.
