Ashwick House (near Dulverton)

Ashwick House is a Grade II listed Edwardian mansion in Ashwick, four miles northwest of Dulverton, Exmoor, Somerset, England.

not to be confused with the 17th century Ashwick Court in eastern Somerset.
Ashwick House
Location within Somerset
General information
LocationAshwick
Town or citySomerset
CountryEngland
Coordinates51.0644°N 3.5868°W / 51.0644; -3.5868
Completed1901

The house is located on a hillside overlooking the Barle Valley. It was built in 1901 by a Bristolian businessman as a hunting retreat. It sits in six acres of sprawling gardens and looks across the hills to the Bristol Channel. The house has six bedrooms, each named after trees and individually decorated. The "Ash Room" is decorated in shades of pink and green, matching the stained-glass window.[1]

In 1928 Frank Green purchased Ashwick House. He moved to Exmoor in 1930 and took as active interest in running the Ashwick Estate, which extended to several hundred acres of farmland. In those days 20 resident staff ran the house and it was regularly used for lavish entertaining. To provide for entertainment of the staff, a miniature theatre (sometimes known as the music room) was constructed in the grounds.[2] Standing on stone pillars. The auditorium is 30 feet (9.1 m) long and 15 feet (4.6 m) wide with a wooden dance floor. The stage is 8 feet (2.4 m) deep with a proscenium arch 10 feet (3.0 m) wide. The wings have trompe-l'œil paintings on canvas of Edward VII and Queen Alexandra on one side and politicians including H. H. Asquith, Bonar Law and Austen Chamberlain on the other.[3] The building has been taken over by the Moorland Mousie Trust and is being restored to serve as a heritage information centre.[4]

From 1980 the house was run as a hotel but according to its official site it is now closed to the public.[5]

References
  1. Jacobs, Brian, Ashwick House near Dulverton, Exmoor Encyclopedia
  2. Mountfield, John. "Ashwick House Music Room Exmoor". Everything Exmoor. Retrieved 27 March 2011.
  3. Warren, Derrick (2005). Curious Somerset. Stroud: Sutton Publishing. pp. 54–55. ISBN 978-0-7509-4057-3.
  4. "Moorland Mousie Trust's Green Room Will Be Preservation Centre for Exmoor Pony Heritage". Exmoor Country Magazine. Retrieved 27 March 2011.
  5. www.ashwickhouse.com Archived June 20, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
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