The first house built on the site of Ashburnham House was constructed around 1380 as the Prior’s House of the Monastery and was only one room wide. Consequently the wall that divides the Camden Room from the rooms behind was initially an outside wall, accounting for its width. In the northwest corner, the course of a spiral staircase is visible.
For much of its life, Ashburnham House was a domestic property, with remaining features of grand fireplaces and chandeliers indicating this former use. The Camden Room fireplace likely dates to the 17th century, when the house was let to the Earls of Ashburnham who would go on to give it its surviving name. Three large portraits hang in the Camden Room. One is Elizabeth I, celebrated as the School’s foundress, and either side of her are two Head Masters. William Camden was the only layman to hold the position of Head Master until 1937 and was appointed by Elizabeth I’s special dispensation. He is also a well-known historian, authoring Camden’s Britannia, a comprehensive survey of England’s historical remains, compiled during school holidays. Also represented is Alexander Nowell, who later went on to become Dean of St Paul’s and of Windsor. He is posthumously credited with the invention of bottled beer owing to a bottle left behind on a fishing trip and later rediscovered to still be drinkable.
