Sandridge Park

Sandridge Park is a country house overlooking the River Dart, built in 1805. Designed by John Nash for Lady Ashburton, it is constructed of stuccoed stone rubble with a low-pitched slate hipped roof, wide eaves, and paired brackets to the soffit. The house has an asymmetrical plan, two storeys, and two towers. The facade is arranged with 2:3:1 bays, featuring round-headed sash windows with glazing bars. A central, three-bay, segmentally bowed ground floor bay originally had wooden trelliswork extending both left and right. The east tower is square, two storeys high plus an attic, with a low-pitched pyramidal roof. The west tower is set back with a round end, rising to two storeys and an attic, and topped with a conical roof and an elliptical attic window. Rendered brick, octagonal chimney stacks are present. A service wing is set back to the north-east, incorporating a courtyard behind the main house. A twentieth-century alteration is a round-arched carriageway entrance to the courtyard. Previously, a conservatory occupied the south front of the service wing. Above the north end of the service wing is a turret featuring a steeply pitched, tent-shaped roof, pilastered corners, and louvred bullseyes. The interior includes a circular entrance hall (now the dining room) with blind arcaded walls and a vaulted entrance corridor. A simple open-string staircase has straight balusters, a wreathed handrail, and a lantern above the upper landing. Original features remain, including moulded marble chimney pieces (one with Egyptian-style pilasters), and original joinery such as doors and shutters. The estate was held by the Sandridges from the reign of Henry II and was later sold to the first Lord Ashburton, who commissioned the current house. Plans for the house were exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1805.