Former Malthouse To Rear Of 23 Church Street

The former malthouse to the rear of 23 Church Street in Ashbourne is a late 18th-century building, noted in a sales document from 1803. It was constructed for Thomas or his son John Hensworth, who were maltsters and victuallers. The structure features a stone plinth and part of the ground floor and basement, with the remainder built of brick in English garden wall bond, topped with a tiled roof. The building has three storeys and a part basement, which is related to a second malthouse that has since been demolished and is set downslope.

The malthouse exhibits irregular fenestration, with two windows and a taking-in door on the second floor, and four windows (some altered) along with a doorway under a cambered arch that is accessed by external steps to the first floor. A large recessed taking-in area under a wooden lintel spans part of the ground and first floors. To the right, there are two round-headed arches (one of which is blocked) that indicate the site of former cisterns, now dismantled. The south wall has several windows, including one with a late 18th-century iron-framed three-light casement that is much damaged.

Internally, the ground floor is lined with brick and features massive ceiling beams, while the first floor is partially plastered. The top floor is finished with gypsum, lath, and plaster. An internal hoist mechanism is still present, and the roof is a pegged king-post design with five bays. Hensworth was a notable maltster and innkeeper, and this malthouse is one of the few significant 18th-century industrial buildings remaining in Ashbourne.