Ashley Court

Ashley Court is a small country house dating from the early 19th century, possibly incorporating elements from a house built in 1657 by John Upcott, a wool merchant from Tiverton. The property is situated within part of what was once Henry II's hunting park. It features plain stucco walls and a large slate hipped roof with very deep eaves supported by paired brackets, along with rendered stacks over the cross walls. The building has a double-depth plan with service rooms at the rear.

The exterior is two storeys high with a symmetrical three-window front. The first-floor windows are mid-19th century three-light casements with margin panes, while the ground floor has late 19th century French windows. The original early 19th century hornless sash windows with glazing bars can be found in the service rooms at the rear and on the returns towards the left and right. A fine cast-iron verandah with a bowed centre and scrolled and anthemion detail enhances the front. The tripartite doorway is set within a rusticated stucco surround and features a fielded panelled door.

On the right-hand return of the front block, there are casement windows with margin panes on the first floor and later transomed windows below, all framed within stucco architraves, with hoods above the first-floor windows. The left-hand return has a four-window arrangement and includes a two-storey canted bay on the right. The rear of the property retains a good unaltered group of service wings, which includes an apple loft topped with a pyramidal roof and a pyramidal-roofed louvre.

Inside, Ashley Court boasts high-quality features such as moulded and carved ceiling cornices and bands in the reception area, panelled doors, window shutters, and an open-well staircase with an open string and mahogany handrail. Victorian chimneypieces can be found where inspected.

Historically, Ashley Court was once the residence of Thomas Cosway, who was the uncle of the Tiverton painter Richard Cosway.