Ashurst

A pair of joined Italianate villas constructed in 1864 to the designs of William Oldham Chambers, later converted to use as a care home.

MATERIALS: The building is constructed of brick and has hipped slate roofs.

PLAN: Originally constructed as two joined houses with side entrance bays the plan has since been unified to operate as a hotel and later as a care home.

EXTERIOR: The building is three storeys high and four bays wide along the east (seafront) elevation. The exterior is characterised by Italianate details such as rusticated brick quoins, keystones above windows, moulded architraves to most windows, a modillion eaves cornice and cornices between each storey.

The east elevation is symmetrical, comprising a pair of central two-storey canted bays windows, now with C20 fenestration. Brick quoins indicate the original separation of the two halves of the building. The original fenestration survives in the outer bays and at the second floor all of which have two-over-two wooden sash windows, those of the upper storey have segmental heads.

The fenestration of the north and south elevations consistently employs round-arched one-over-one sash windows.

The north side of the building has a recessed bay accommodating a four-story tower under a swept pyramidal roof terminating in iron cresting. To the right of this bay is an entrance porch extension and a first-floor canted oriel window.