St Giles House is located at Wimborne St Giles in East Dorset in England, just south of Cranborne Chase. It is the ancestral seat of the Ashley-Cooper family, which is headed by the Earl of Shaftesbury. The estate covers over . Built in 1651, the Grade I listed house stands in a vast park through which the River Allen flows, feeding a seven-acre lake as it winds its way towards the small parish village of Wimborne St Giles. The 17th-century house is a low, quadrangular building. Although the name of the architect is not known, the influence of Inigo Jones is obvious in the Renaissance north and east fronts with their Classical façades. The original plan of the house called for a square courtyard, to which was added two large ground floor rooms, with additional rooms on the second and third floors. The house was once completely crenellated along the edge of the parapet (or shorter walls), however most of these fortifications were removed in the 19th century. The east front, with its seven bays, remains much the same today. The surrounding estate park of 400 acres features a serpentine lake, garden ornaments, a notable grotto and a 1000-yard avenue of beech. The park is Grade II* listed in the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens. Ashley family The Ashley family were originally from Wiltshire, where they had owned the manor of Ashley since the 11th century. The first ancestor to reside in Wimborne St Giles was Robert Ashley (born c. 1415); he was the fifth great-grandfather of Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury. Robert Ashley acquired a large family manor in Wimborne St Giles through his marriage to Egidia Hamelyn, daughter of Sir John Hamelyn. Ashley and his two immediate successors, Edmund Ashley (born ), and Hugh Ashley (born ) flourished under King Henry IV. When Hugh Ashley died 29 April 1493, his estates transferred to his eldest son, Sir Henry Ashley I. Sir Henry Ashley I was married to Radegan Gilbert, daughter of Robert Gilbert of Somerset. Together, they had two sons, Henry II (his heir) and Anthony of Damerham. When Sir Henry Ashley I died on 1 March 1549, his son Henry II inherited the estate at Wimborne St Giles. Sir Henry Ashley II was married to Catherine Bassett, sister of Anne Bassett, both daughters of Sir John Bassett and Honor Grenville, Viscountess Lisle. Sir Henry