Ashbank Farmhouse

Ashbank Farmhouse is a timber-framed farmhouse dating to the late 16th and early 17th centuries, situated off Church Lane near Scholar Green. The building is notable for its group value and historic significance.

The front of the farmhouse is characterized by a gabled wing with a 7x4 cell arrangement of small timber framing, featuring angle braces and 3-light casement windows from the 20th century. A jettied gable above has a 2-light casement window. To the left of this wing is a section with uneven small framing, set on a stone and brick plinth. A doorway and a 3-light metal-framed window are at ground floor level, while the first floor features a 17th-century canted oriel window with ovolo-moulded mullions, supported by stepped brackets carved into the upright posts. Some timber on this front has been planked to conceal rotten wood. A large chimney stack, rendered in the lower section and constructed of yellow brick in the upper section (dating to the 19th century), rises from the roof. A lower range of 19th-century brickwork with English garden bond is present to the left, featuring 3-light windows. A lean-to was added in the late 19th century. The right-hand side displays 10x4 cells of small framing with angle braces, with timber planking applied to the third post from the right. A single-light first-floor window is centrally positioned, and a blocked 2-light window sits to its right, retaining its timber mullion.

The rear of the farmhouse incorporates a gabled wing with a 6x4 cell arrangement of small framing and angle braces, including a blank door, a mezzanine staircase window, and a 3-light casement window. A jettied gable has a chamfered bressumer and a 3-light 19th-century window. To the right is a section with 5x2 cells of uneven small framing, with a catslide roof extending above.

The interior features a parlour with ovolo-moulded ceiling beams, stop-chamfered spine beams with run-out stops, wall posts with decoratively molded consoles with small-scale sawtooth decoration, and an ingle nook fireplace. The fireplace has a massive ovolo-moulded bressumer with ogee end stops. Other ground floor rooms share similar wall posts, brackets, and ceiling beams. Three doorways have ogee heads. The staircase consists of four flights with quarter-turn and half-landings, displaying newels with chamfered corners and faceted ball finials with sawtooth molding, turned balusters, and a plain handrail. The first floor also exhibits ovolo-moulded ceiling beams with chamfered rafters. Six plank doors, mostly of 17th-century origin, are fitted with strap hinges. The attics contain two purlins and ridge with wind bracing. Queen-post trusses with angle braces and wattle and daub infill are also present.