The Ramps

The Ramps is a house built in the late 19th century, designed by Sabine Baring-Gould. It is constructed of stone rubble and features gabled slate roofs, some with sprocketted eaves. Parts of the exterior are slate-hung, with ornamental slate-hanging over moulded bressumers. The house is situated high above a flooded quarry, which is fed by a waterfall, likely inspiring Baring-Gould's picturesque design.

The building has two storeys and an irregular garden front with one and two-window arrangements. The left end of the main block is gabled, while the right end has a front gable with ornamental slate-hanging. To the left of this block, there is a wing that is gabled to the front, featuring a slate-hung first-floor pentice supported by an iron column. A similar pentice on the left gable end of the main block has been filled in at ground floor level in the 20th century. The ground floor casements have ornamental leading, and the 10-light pentice window has square leaded panes. The front gable includes a 3-light roof dormer and a 4-light casement, both with ornamental leading.

The rear of the house has a loosely integrated arrangement of gables. The left-hand gable features applied timber framing with pargetting, while the right-hand and centre gables are slate-hung. The centre gable jetties out at right angles to the others and is curiously attached to the swept-down roof of the main range. There is a small gabled one-storey wing beside the centre gable and a 20th-century glazed porch in the angle.

The interior has not been inspected. The Ramps was frequently visited by F.W. Bussel, the vice-principal of Brasenose College, Oxford, who helped Baring-Gould collect folk songs. The name of the house comes from Bussel's practice of pretending to be Baron Frederick Von Rampenstein during his travels in Europe.