Ashton House

Ashton House, now a day care centre, is a large house located in Preston, likely dating from around 1810 and significantly enlarged and remodelled around 1850. Constructed primarily of sandstone ashlar with brick rear walls and slate roofs, it originally had a U-plan with side wings, though the layout has been altered with the incorporation of a rear courtyard and further additions to the rear.

The building is two storeys and features a symmetrical, tripartite design with a five-window main range and two-window wings connected to the rear corners. The front elevation has a plinth, a first-floor band that runs around the building, a plain frieze, and a moulded cornice with a blocking course. A central three-window segmental bow is at the front, enclosed at ground floor by a later, rusticated, pilastered porch with rounded corners, a round-headed doorway, and side windows. The ground floor also has two tall windows recessed within segmental-headed arches with splayed voussoirs, while the first floor has five shorter windows with raised sills. The roof is shallow-hipped, and a prominent rectangular lantern rises from the ridge, featuring very large semicircular windows with radiating mullions and glazing bars within open-pedimented gables. Tall side-wall chimneys are also present. The return walls have five windows on each floor. The side wings have been treated as pedimented pavilions, with a tripartite window on each floor of both the front and side walls. The linking bays feature round-headed doorways and side windows at ground floor, and simple windows above. All windows now have 20th-century glazing.

The interior includes a central well, formerly an open courtyard, now with an ornamental cast-iron balustrade to a balcony. Elaborate decoration is present throughout, including pilastered arcading and coffered barrel-vaulting. Detailed decoration is also a feature of the individual rooms.

The house was the residence of the Pedder family, founders of Preston’s first bank. It was likely remodelled by Edward Pedder, who inherited the house in 1846 and died in 1861, when it was discovered that he had misappropriated bank funds for personal use. The design shares similarities with a villa in Lancashire designed by John Soane (a drawing of which is held in the RIBA collection). It forms a group with the nearby former coach house and associated buildings.