Description

TQ 53 NW SPELDHURST FORDCOMBE ROAD (off), ASHURST
PARK
7/481 Fernchase Manor (Ashurst Place
on O.S.)
25.4.90
II

Large house. Early C19 with later C19 reglazing. Stuccoed with slate roofs;
stacks with rendered shafts.

Plan: The house, set in parkland, faces south west. Approximately
rectangular plan with a double depth main block in the centre, flanked by
symmetrical pavilions projecting to the front with a portico between. Central
entrance into a large stair hall, principal rooms to left and right heated by
end stacks. Single-storey block at the right end (possibly a later addition)
with a second entrance on the right end. 2 blocks adjoining at the left end.

Exterior: Main block 3 storeys, pavilions 2 storeys, right end block single
storey; left end blocks 2 and 3 storeys. Hipped slate roof to left end block,
other roofs concealed behind parapets. Chimneyshafts with moulded cornices,
some retaining original C19 chimneypots. The central part of the house is
symmetrical 3:5:3 bays, the 3-bay pavilions to left and right canted, the 7-
bay Tuscan portico across the front with the outer bays angled towards. the
pavilions. The 5-bay block has pilasters to left and right and flanking the
entrance bay, a moulded band at second floor level and below the parapet which
has a moulded cornice carried on fluted moulded brackets. The parapet is
crowned with a swan-necked pediment on a bracketted base. The pediment, with
an obelisk finial, is carved with a Renaissance grotesque. Ground and first
floor windows are tall 2-pane plate glass sashes with moulded architraves and
rectangular panels over. The first floor windows have shouldered architraves.
Second floor windows have eared architraves. The portico has 3 steps up; a
moulded entablature crowned with urns with scrolled supports. Pilasters to
each bay of the ground floor of the centre block have moulded capitals and
acanthus consoles supporting plastered beams to the columns. The flat roof of
the portico is top-lit with circular lights with moulded plaster cornices.
The canted pavilions have moulded cornices below the parapets, which have
sections of balustrading. Moulded bands at first floor level and above the
first floor windows. Ground floor windows with moulded architraves, and
floating cornices, glazed with tall 2-pane plate glass sashes, the centre
window of the right hand pavilion converted to a French window. The first
floor windows have moulded architraves and baluster-shaped aprons and are
similarly glazed. The single-storey right end block, slightly set back to the
right is 4 bays, the narrower right hand bay blind, divided by pilasters with
sunk mouldings and moulded capitals and bases; deep projecting cornice below
the parapet. Segmental-headed windows with moulded architraves and facetted
keyblocks, glazed with tall 2-pane plate glass sashes. On the right return a
Tuscan portico with a blocked doorway and balustrades to each side. 2
adjoining 2-bay blocks at the left end, the far left end block 3 storeys, the
other 2 storeys. Both have moulded bands at first floor level and above the
first floor windows. Ground and first floor windows with moulded architraves
and aprons, glazed with 2-pane plate glass-sashes, ground floor window left a
C20 replacement. The 2-storey block has a moulded cornice below the parapet.
The left hand block has 3 small first floor windows with a common sill on
brackets and deep eaves carried on moulded brackets. The rear elevation is a
plainer version of the front with a central single-storey bay with tall
windows, the bays divided by pilasters surmounted by urns. Garden pavilion
attached at rear left with a 3-bay east front with panelled piers and a
central round-headed arch, moulded imposts, a keyblock and pediment over. The
bays each side have stone balustrades and a parapet with urns.

Interior: Not inspected but said to be well-preserved.

Listing NGR: TQ5318939424

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26533422

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

• 
  A Buying and Owning a Listed Building: A Brief Guide
• 
  The Shredded Chef: 120 Recipes for Building Muscle, Getting Lean, and Staying Healthy
• 
  Hampshire: Winchester and the North (The Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Herefordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990: Updated version