A gatehouse restored to use

Image: © Neil Owen Taken: 15 Sep 2018

The Ashton gatehouse was originally part of the Smyth estate. After some earlier ups and downs on many other businesses, the family made a fortune in the mid-eighteenth century after local coal measures were discovered. The estate at that time was not terribly opulent, so advice was sought from Humphrey Repton: he suggested some improvements to the landscape and Henry Woods was employed to design them. One such was this gatehouse, built around 1805. It served well as an entrance to the mansion further up the hill and was home to two families of keepers at the same time - the house was divided in two on the upper floor. It is thought that up to twelve people lived here at the peak. Sadly, the Smyths fortunes declined in the twentieth century and the last of the line, Esme Smyth, died in 1946. The estate was passed onto the city council, despite the latter having money after the ravages of WWII. Using some of the land, Ashton Park school was built right beside the gatehouse and the A370 now goes right in front of it. It was used as a store for a while but was largely left to rot. After being left to fall into a severe state, money was ultimately scraped together and the past year or so has seen the gatehouse restored to a modern and useful asset.

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