Little Dean's Yard Ashburnham House

Ashburnham House is a substantial town house located within the Abbey Precinct and Westminster School, Broad Sanctuary, Westminster. The main body of the house dates from the Commonwealth period, shortly before 1662, and is attributed to John Webb. It incorporates parts of the late 14th-century Prior's Lodging, with the original masonry structure and kitchen and hall walls incorporated into the design, and a west wing was added in 1930 by ALN Russell. The exterior is faced with red brick of the 17th century, over the original 14th-century rubble walls, and has a tiled hipped roof. It is three storeys high and seven windows wide, arranged as a five-window central section flanked by two-window projecting wings. A central square-headed doorway is set within a plain rusticated surround, with a panelled door and fanlight; a semicircular arched doorway is located to the east wing. The windows are recessed sash windows with glazing bars, set under flat brick arches. Stone plat bands define each floor, topped by a stone cornice below a Portland stone parapet with terracotta urns.

The interior plan is asymmetrical due to the need to accommodate the medieval fabric, which is partly exposed on the west side and in the kitchen. The notable feature of the 17th-century interior is the staircase, which rises in an irregular square plan in an open-well configuration, lit by a large lantern and dome. The closed-string staircase has substantial balusters and panelled newels, rising in four irregular flights between landings. Walls are articulated with fluted Ionic pilasters and attached and free-standing columns. The ceiling above the staircase is richly stuccoed, with a scrolling flower-enriched garland around a large oval opening into the lantern clerestory, featuring four windows and a balustrade surmounted by groups of three slender columns supporting a cornice with a rich garland beneath a shallow dome. This lantern gallery treatment is reminiscent of François Mansart and is unique in Britain for its date. Heavily carved doorcases with segmental pediments and rich acanthus scrolls are also present. The main first-floor room has a stucco ceiling with an oval garlanded centre at a right angle to the facade.

The remnants of the Refectory, in the garden, can be seen in the Great Cloisters, Broad Sanctuary.