Ashe Hall
T ara Centre's home is at Ashe Hall in Etwall, Derbyshire - right in the heart of the UK.
The present Ashe Hall was completed in 1869. During WW1 the Hall was used as a hospital and between 1920 - 1939 it became Ashe Preparatory School, a boarding school for boys. One of the ‘old boys’ from the 1920’s still visits the World Peace Café at Ashe Hall! During WW2 it was used as a Red Cross auxilliary hospital for American and British casualties. In 1950 it was sold by the Army to Derbyshire Education Committee who opened a school for 50 special needs children. Finally in 1996 the Hall and grounds were purchased by Tara Buddhist Centre, for the benefit of all sentient beings.
One of the first things you notice on arriving are the huge Redwood trees lining the driveway. These originate on the western side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains CA, USA. Some of them growing in the Sequoia National Park are big enough to drive a car through and weigh over 1000 tons; they live for up to 3000 years. The tree was introduced into Britain in 1853 when it was given the English name Wellingtonia in honour of the Duke of Wellington.