Ashwick Court

Ashwick Court is a small country house originating as a 17th-century farmhouse, substantially refronted and remodelled in the 18th century. A wing was added to the west in 1928 by the architects Rolfe and Peto, and another to the east in 1996-8; the latter extension is excluded from listing as it is not of special interest. Significant alterations were undertaken throughout the house in the 1990s, including removal of much of the internal structure.

The building is constructed of rubblestone, rendered and painted, with Bath stone ashlar dressings left unrendered for the door and window surrounds, quoins, and moulded eaves cornice. Brick stacks are rendered. The hipped roofs are slated with recently replaced dormer windows. Most windows are sashes, largely 20th-century replacements, though mullioned windows retain iron casements.

The main house comprises two storeys with an attic and basement, roughly square on plan, with the principal entrance facing south. It is divided into two parts: the rear, slightly lower section represents the original 17th-century building, while the front is largely 18th-century. Ground level slopes northward, so northern entrances are at basement level. The wings provide ground-floor and basement rooms. An 1880s lean-to runs alongside the rear western section and continues northward.

The principal elevation is three bays wide and two storeys high with a central entrance. The entrance bay is defined by shallow pilasters in unrendered ashlar. The entrance is protected by an enclosed mid-19th-century stone porch with a round-headed arch and emphasised keystone and convex cornice. Inside, the doorcase has bolection moulding, and brackets remain from the original hood. Above the porch sits a stone plaque bearing the Strachey arms and motto "Cælum non animum" from Horace's Odes. Ground-floor windows have been enlarged, probably in the early 20th century, but first-floor windows retain original proportions with segmental pediments to the centre and triangular pediments to either side. The symmetrical wings, though of different dates, complement the house's style with exposed quoins and stone parapets partly concealing pyramidal roofs. The 1928 western wing has a single window to the south matching ground-floor windows of the main house, and a large Venetian window to the west at ground-floor level, with two mullioned windows (one blind) at basement level. Above the wing on the west elevation is a cruciform stone window, probably 17th-century, with a 18th-century triangular pediment. The equivalent window on the east elevation has a triangular pediment with sash frames. The western elevation of the rear section is partially obscured by the lean-to, but above it are stone window openings to each floor, the upper one featuring a hoodmould apparently formed from 19th-century moulding remains. The rear north elevation comprises three gables with stacks rising from east and west gables. A central entrance appears to originate in the 17th century, with pointed segmental arch and heavy keystone, though it has a 1990s bracketed cornice addition in 18th-century style. Above are two windows lighting the rear stair, the upper one round-headed, connected by a stone surround. To the west is a mullioned ground-floor window with two small windows above. The eastern elevation of the rear section has windows to each storey; lower windows are large 19th or 20th-century openings, but the upper is smaller with moulded surround and probably earlier.

The interior has been substantially altered in the 20th century, in both 1928 and 1996-8. In 1996 the central stair was removed and a new cantilevered stone stair beneath a coved ceiling was built in the rear section where a stair previously connected basement to ground floors only; the walls enclosing this space are thought to largely remain. The southern entrance hall was enlarged by removing the central stair, with new openings made in the north wall. The bolection-moulded stone chimneypiece and hob-grate are thought to date from this phase. The western drawing room was extended and remodelled in 1928 by removing part of the original western wall; in 1996 the fireplace was relocated from the original room's centre to the new space's centre, with a carved timber chimneypiece in 18th-century style inserted. The 1996 eastern wing contains the new kitchen.

The study to the north-east has a 17th-century stone chimneypiece with wide chamfered arched opening and triangular keystone, fitted with an early-19th-century hobgrate. The room also has an early-19th-century cornice with rose motif to the corners, and early-19th-century reeded window surrounds with panelling and shutters. The north-west room has an 18th-century carved timber chimneypiece with 18th-century hobgrate; these may be original but are thought more likely later insertions. This room also retains window panelling and shutters. In the first-floor south-west bedroom, the western stone cruciform window is visible with its convex mouldings. Window panelling and shutters in this and the south-east room are modern replacements. Northern roof spaces have largely been converted to living space, though the central section retains principal pegged timbers with purlins; the 18th-century coved eaves cornice of the north wall of the south section is visible. The southern roof section was not accessible.

The basement retains its stone flags. The south-east room, formerly the kitchen, shows the opening for the former range but lacks other historic features. The south-west former larder has been partitioned but retains alcoves for shelving. The north-east room may have been a small servants' hall or sitting room, with an early-19th-century chimneypiece, alcove shelving, and buffet recess; window shutters and panelling are also early-19th-century. The north-west room has been extended westward, with the stone-mullioned window visible to the north.