Ashridge mansion — side view of the full columned facade across the lawn, South Kortright, New York
South Kortright · New York · Est. 1912

A Private Catskills Estate for Film, Retreats & Extraordinary Gatherings

Ashridge, formerly Belle Terre, is a historic estate campus in South Kortright, New York — 1,118 private acres of farm, forest, and river along the West Branch of the Delaware, with an 18-bedroom mansion, multiple guest houses, an attached gallery hall, commercial kitchen and laundry infrastructure, barns, a lake, and expansive private grounds.

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Ashridge Estate, formerly Belle Terre
South Kortright, New York
1,118 private acres
Estate at a Glance

One campus. Multiple buildings. Full back-of-house.

A complete production and gathering estate in the western Catskills — lodging, kitchens, laundry, storage, and 1,118 private acres under one owner.

Mansion
Historic 18-bedroom mansion, fully restored original interiors, original copper roof
Lower-Level Rooms
10 additional lower-level rooms — may be suitable for staff, crew, offices, wardrobe, or support use. Multiple bathrooms and a staff kitchen on the lower level.
Greek Revival Farmhouse
7-bedroom, sleeps 18*, chef's kitchen, fully separate from the main estate, occasionally available for short term rental at Blue Violet Farm
Guesthouse
4-bedroom guesthouse, fully separate from the main estate
Gallery Hall
Attached gallery hall, formerly a gymnasium — up to 250 capacity*
Kitchens
Commercial kitchen (mansion), chef's kitchen (farmhouse), home kitchen (guesthouse), plus two staff kitchens (lower level and third floor of the mansion)
Commercial Laundry
Commercial laundry room — serves full productions, large retreats, and extended estate stays
Barns, Farm & Storage
Multiple barns and a metal storage barn (8–10 vintage camper–sized vehicles), plus 3- and 4-car garages
Grounds
1,118 private acres: fields, hardwood forest, farm, river frontage, lake, Italian garden

* Capacity and occupancy depend on layout, event type, permitting, insurance, and final approvals.

What Ashridge Is For

One estate. Three principal uses.

Ashridge operates as a whole-estate campus — rented to one party at a time, for productions, retreats, and private gatherings that require privacy, infrastructure, and scale.

Location

Film & Photography

A private production estate with period mansion interiors, multiple locations on 1,118 acres, institutional power (generator also available), commercial kitchen and laundry, on-site housing, and a metal storage barn for basecamp. Gated, single-owner access control.

For location scouts and managers, review our scout pack — hard facts, downloads, logistics, and direct contact information.

Explore Film & Photography
Campus Buyout

Retreats & Gatherings

Executive retreats, board offsites, foundation convenings, artist residencies, women's history events, and cultural salons. In October 1946, Alice McLean convened the International Assembly of Women here, co-sponsored by Eleanor Roosevelt, who closed the assembly on the front steps. The house is open again for the meetings that matter.

Retreats & gatherings
Private Event

Weddings & Private Buyouts

Whole-estate privacy. Three residences. Gallery hall for up to 250*. Historic interiors. 1,118 acres. For weddings, family milestones, and private buyouts where the setting is the event.

Weddings & buyouts

* Capacity and occupancy depend on layout, event type, permitting, insurance, and final approvals.

The Estate

See the campus

Mansion, gallery hall, farmhouse, guesthouse, barns, grounds — and 1,118 acres of the western Catskills.

Ashridge mansion purple enfilade hallway — lavender walls, white classical pilasters, and gilt chandeliers receding through aligned doorways
Ashridge mansion blue library — ornate plaster ceiling, oak wainscoting, brass chandelier, and herringbone parquet floors
Ashridge estate — aerial view of the mansion, Italian garden, conservatory, lake, and 1,118 private acres, South Kortright, New York
West Branch Delaware River at Ashridge Estate — dramatic reflection in still water, 1,118 private acres
Ashridge estate seen from the lake — historic mansion and grounds reflected in calm water, Catskills, New York
Ashridge Estate red barn with tractor — iconic American farm architecture, Catskills, New York
Ashridge mansion white drawing room — marble fireplace, Corinthian pilasters, and crystal chandelier
Ashridge Estate white outbuilding in winter — historic clapboard shed with weathered patina, South Kortright
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Why Productions Choose Ashridge

Infrastructure that's already there.

Most private estates require productions to build from scratch. Ashridge arrives with institutional power, commercial kitchen and laundry, on-site housing for 29+ guests, and a private barnyard basecamp — all on one private estate with gated, single-owner access control.

01

Visual Character

A 1912–1914 Georgian and Gilded-Age mansion with original solid-copper roof (gone verdigris), Hunt Slonem interiors, formal Italian garden, lake, Greek Revival farmhouse, authentic dairy barns — and 1,118 uninterrupted acres of Catskills landscape. No dressing required.

02

Privacy & Control

Gated, single-owner access control — no competing traffic or public access on booked locations. Full location control from arrival to wrap. No neighboring properties in frame. No scheduling conflicts.

03

Operational Infrastructure

Commercial kitchen, commercial laundry, institutional-grade power with generator tie-in (generator also available), mansion: 2 wells and 9 septic tanks; farmhouse and guesthouse: 2 wells and 2 septic tanks, 50+ car parking, and a metal storage barn for 8–10 vintage camper–sized vehicles.

04

Scale

18 bedrooms in the mansion, 7 in the farmhouse, 4 in the guesthouse, plus 10 lower-level support rooms* with multiple bathrooms and a staff kitchen on the lower level. Cast and crew can stay on-site, across multiple buildings, for the duration.

* Capacity and occupancy depend on layout, event type, permitting, insurance, and final approvals.

The Campus

Every building. One estate.

Ashridge is a multi-building campus rather than a single rental house. Each structure serves a distinct function — and together they make it one of the most complete private estates in the Northeast for productions, retreats, and whole-estate gatherings.

Ashridge mansion — columned portico and brick facade, Georgian and Gilded-Age manor, South Kortright, New York

Main Mansion

Georgian and Gilded-Age brick manor, 1912–1914. 18 bedrooms above grade. Granite fireplaces, original moldings, Zuber wallpaper, Hunt Slonem interiors. Attached gallery hall.

Details
Ashridge gallery hall — barrel-vaulted upper gallery with crimson walls, white pilasters, and natural wood ceiling with skylight

Gallery Hall

Attached to the mansion. Formerly a gymnasium — large, clear-span, light-filled. Up to 250 for events*. Exhibition, production, gathering.

Details
Greek Revival farmhouse front entry — blue paneled door, sidelights, transom, and ornate brackets, South Kortright, New York

Greek Revival Farmhouse

7 bedrooms, sleeps 18*, fully separate from the main estate. Period interiors — original hardwood floors, stained-glass transom windows, stone fireplace. Occasionally available for short term rental at Blue Violet Farm.

Details
Ashridge guesthouse — four-bedroom residence separate from the main mansion and farmhouse, South Kortright, New York

Guesthouse

4-bedroom private guesthouse, fully separate from the main estate. Additional cast or principal housing, or self-contained unit for small groups.

Details
Ashridge Estate red gambrel barn — iconic dairy barn architecture on the farm campus, Catskills, New York

Barns, Farm & Storage

Multiple barns including a large red gambrel barn and authentic dairy infrastructure. A metal storage barn holds 8–10 vintage camper–sized vehicles. Three- and four-car garages. 50+ car parking.

Details
Ashridge Italian garden — formal terraces, conservatory, and statuary lawns below the mansion, South Kortright, New York

Grounds & Land

1,118 private acres. Fields, managed hardwood forest, working farm, West Branch river frontage (8,000 feet), McLean's lake, Italian garden, and orchard. No modern sightlines.

Details

* Capacity and occupancy depend on layout, event type, permitting, insurance, and final approvals.

From Belle Terre

A house with layers.

Between 1912 and 1914, the copper magnate James McLean raised this house on a hill above the West Branch of the Delaware. His daughter Alice McLean — founder of the American Women's Voluntary Services, three hundred and twenty-five thousand women strong at wartime height — became its steward, its host, and its chief strategist. In October 1946 she brought two hundred women from fifty-four nations here. Eleanor Roosevelt closed the assembly on the front steps. Their findings went to the United Nations.

Ashridge, formerly Belle Terre, has since been home to philanthropic foundations, residential institutions, and the artist Hunt Slonem, who restored its interiors in 2017. The campus opens again, under its first name, for the next chapter.

Full estate history
The delegates of the International Assembly of Women on the front lawn of Ashridge, October 20, 1946.
International Assembly of Women
Ashridge Farm · South Kortright, New York · October 20, 1946
Photograph by Bob Wyer · Delaware County Historical Association
Inquire

Plan a production, retreat, or private estate buyout.

Ashridge is available for whole-estate bookings. Tell us what you have in mind — production type, dates, crew size, event type — and we'll respond with specifics.

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