Ashmans Hall

Ashmans Hall is a large country house built around 1820 for Robert Rede. It is constructed of white brick, featuring a stone band at the first floor level and a stone parapet with a cornice. The house has a slated roof and stands two storeys tall, with an approximately square main block and lower curved wings to the west that enclose the stable yard. The entrance front has five bays arranged in a 1:3:1 pattern, with the central bays recessed. The windows are inset sash types with slender glazing bars under flat brick arches; the outer bays originally had tripartite ground floor windows set in arched recesses, although the window to the right is now blocked and all windows are damaged or missing.

A recessed portico supported by four stone Ionic columns features an entablature, and the central doorway has an eight-panel door in two leaves, complete with an architrave and cornice on console brackets. The right-hand return front has nine bays, with a central three-light, two-storey semi-circular bay topped with a domed roof. The rear elevation mirrors the main front but lacks the entrance portico. The curved wings are arcaded towards the stable yard and terminate in two-storey blocks with five by two bays; the centre bay is set forward and pedimented, with openings within a full-height arched recess.

Inside, there is a fine central domed staircase hall, possibly inspired by the staircase at nearby Worlingham Hall. The entrance to the hall features a screen of two Doric columns flanked by arched recesses. The imperial staircase is made of stone and has a wrought iron balustrade with a mahogany handrail. A first-floor gallery consists of four pairs of Ionic columns with arched recesses between each pair and a dentil cornice, although much of this is now damaged or missing. At the time of the survey in May 1985, the house was derelict and had suffered considerable internal damage, with many ceilings collapsed.