Beechfield House

Beechfield House is a detached house dating from the mid-to-late 18th century. It is constructed from Cary stone rubble with a rendered facade, complemented by Doulting stone dressings and a steep-pitched clay pantiled roof. The house has brick chimney stacks. It is two storeys with an attic, and comprises five bays, the central bay being wider and projecting slightly. Architectural details include a plinth, rusticated quoins, an eaves course, and a central pediment. The windows are 12-pane sashes set within architraves; the architraves are flat-headed, but the tops of the windows are segmental arched. A large margined window replaces a pair of composite windows in the upper bay three. An oeil-de-boeuf window is situated within the pediment. The lower bay three features a six-panel door with glazed toplights, set within a beaded surround, and topped with a pediment hood supported by console brackets. Several 19th-century extensions to the rear form a link with, and incorporate, a former detached coach house. The interior was gutted by fire in 1881 and has not been inspected. The house was owned by the Clarke family from around 1760 and was then known as The Villa. It was a regular visiting place for diarist Parson Woodforde and John Wesley. It was purchased by John Boyd in 1864 to allow for the expansion of the Ansford Factory from the grounds of the adjacent Ochiltree House.