Ashburne House, part of Backhouse Building of the University of Sunderland

Ashburne House is part of the Backhouse Building situated within the University of Sunderland. It was constructed around 1835 for Edward Backhouse, a banker, and an eastern extension was possibly added in 1869 by GG Hoskins of Darlington, potentially intended as a museum. The building is constructed of Flemish bond brick with an ashlar basement and dressings. The roof is not visible.

The south elevation faces a park, originally the grounds of the house. It has two storeys and a basement, displaying a 3:1 window arrangement. The right extension is one storey high with a basement, featuring a single window. A left set-back wing is two storeys high with two windows. The original three-bay section has a projecting basement, creating a raised loggia with an Ionic colonnade; the columns are paired, except for a single column in the centre, topped with an entablature. The ground floor features full-length casements with glazing bars flanking a central door and side lights. First floor windows are sash windows with glazing bars, the central window being tripartite. Angle pilasters further support an eaves gutter cornice and a parapet with further pilasters which extends onto the extensions. The right extension incorporates paired pilasters on its right side. The left return of the building presents four closely-set windows, and the left set-back wing features four- or six-paned sashes in architraves, with a centrally inserted door also within an architrave. The house is set within a public park.