In the 18th century Edward Dryden made significant changes to the south façade by facing it with dressed stone and replacing the stone mullioned bay windows with fashionable sash.
Inside, Edward modernised the interior to create a Palladian ideal. He commissioned his cousin, Elizabeth Creed, to produce the decoration scheme in the Painted Parlour.
Edward’s uncle was the most famous member of the family. John Dryden (1631-1700) was the first Poet Laureate in 1668. His immense creative output included political satire and some of the finest classic translations.
Sir Henry Dryden inherited Canons Ashby in 1837 at 19 years old. Known as ‘the Antiquary’, he was passionately interested in architecture and history, especially that of his own family and estate, recording everything he could. He cared for Canons Ashby for most of the Victorian era. His daughter Alice took plenty of pictures at the turn of the century, so we have fantastic evidence of what the site was like over 100 years ago.