Orangery And Gatehouse At Ashcombe House

The orangery or stables at Ashcombe House, now a studio, along with an attached gatehouse, dates from the early 18th century. It is built of Flemish bond brick with limestone dressings and features a corrugated-iron hipped roof. The building is arranged in an L-shape, representing the truncated remains of a larger structure, with the gatehouse originally positioned at the center.

The single-storey, five-bay garden front includes the gatehouse on the left and a projecting three-bay wing on the right. The round-arched gateway has a Gibbs surround, a dentilled pediment with an oculus, and chamfered rusticated quoins. To the right of the gateway, there are four round-arched openings with keystones and casements, which were formerly two windows and two doors. Additionally, there is an arched doorway with a fanlight. The return of the wing to the right features two round-arched casements and a central door with a fanlight, all set in recessed arched panels with keystones. The front of the wing showcases a Venetian window with stone pilasters, a cornice, and raised voussoirs above the round-arched head, along with casements.

At the rear, the gatehouse has a similar Gibbs surround to its archway. The hipped roof is topped with a brick parapet and stone coping. Although the interior was not accessible during the survey in March 1985, it was converted into a studio in the 1930s by Cecil Beaton. The full extent of this range is depicted in an early 18th-century painting located in Salisbury Museum, and part of the structure was demolished in the mid-18th century.