Description

REDDITCH B ASTWOOD LANE (south side)
SP 06 SW
4/8 Astwood Court
10/4/54

- II

Farmhouse, now house, c1500 origins; remodelled mid- to late C18 with mid-
C19 and mid-C20 alterations. Originally timber-framed but mainly rebuilt in
brick with some brick refacing; plain tiled roofs. T-plan; main part of five
bays aligned north-east/south-west; large chimney with brick ridge stack at
junction of first and second bays from south-west end; also large chimney
with three diagonal ridge stacks in fourth bay; south-east wing projects
from third and fourth bays and has external sandstone chimney with two diagonal
brick stacks on its north-east side; also small porch wing in angle with south-
west side of wing and main range. Part two storeys, attic with dormers and
cellar; part three storeys; three-course band between storeys of main part and
at eaves level at south-west end; dentilled eaves cornice and moulded barge-
boards. Windows are C20 casements with leaded lights. South-east elevation:
main part to left of wing has two ground and first floor 3-light windows with
cambered heads; porch wing has a narrow single-light ground and first floor
window both with cambered heads; a two-course impost band flanks the head of
the first floor window; C20 door with moulded architrave in left side; main
part to right of wing has a lean-to addition with catslide roof which has a
2-light first floor window and a lean-to C20 porch on a brick pier and a C20
door with moulded architrave; the right side of the lean-to has a ground floor
2-light window and a blind first floor window, both with cambered heads, and
a square attic light. To the right of the lean-to is a ground floor 2-light
window with a cambered head and a second floor 2-light window. The south-
east wing has a cellar window and a 2-light ground floor window at its gable
end; to the left side are glazed double doors with transom light and cambered
head and a 3-light first floor window; to the right side is a 2-light first
floor window. Interior not inspected, but recorded as having retained part
of its framing in the south-east wing (the former solar) including two cusped
tie-beam trusses with cusped raking struts, which are decorated with scrolled
vine paintings. The central room of the main part is also recorded as having
fragments of panelling reset in C19 work inscribed with the name of John
Culpepper. The Culpepper family occupied the house during C16 and early C17.
The house stands on a moated site, the moat of which is still complete and
filled with water. (VCH 3(i), p 11; FWB & Mary Charles, Conservation of
Timber Buildings, p 87).

Listing NGR: SP0309162305

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26451116

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Kent: West and the Weald: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Lancashire: Liverpool and the South-West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Cambridgeshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Northamptonshire: Buildings of England Series (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Bristol (Pevsner Architectural Guides: City Guides)
• 
  Department for Communities Listed Historic Buildings of Northern Ireland: Information Guide for the 2nd Survey of Historic Buildings