Little Dean's Yard Ashburnham House

Little Dean's Yard Ashburnham House, Broad Sanctuary SW1

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Overview

Heritage Category:
Listed Building
Grade:
I
List Entry Number:
1219461
Date first listed:
24-Feb-1958
List Entry Name:
Little Dean's Yard Ashburnham House
Statutory Address:
Little Dean's Yard Ashburnham House, Broad Sanctuary SW1
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Date:
2003-04-14
Reference:
IOE01/10509/18
Rights:
© Mr Adam Watson. Source: Historic England Archive

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Official list entry

Heritage Category:
Listed Building
Grade:
I
List Entry Number:
1219461
Date first listed:
24-Feb-1958
List Entry Name:
Little Dean's Yard Ashburnham House
Statutory Address 1:
Little Dean's Yard Ashburnham House, Broad Sanctuary SW1

The scope of legal protection for listed buildings

This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.

Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.

For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.

Understanding list entries

Corrections and minor amendments

The scope of legal protection for listed buildings

This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.

Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.

For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.

Understanding list entries

Corrections and minor amendments

Location

Statutory Address:
Little Dean's Yard Ashburnham House, Broad Sanctuary SW1

The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

County:
Greater London Authority
District:
City of Westminster (London Borough)
Parish:
Non Civil Parish
National Grid Reference:
TQ 30046 79409

Details

This list entry was subject to a Minor Amendment on 22 June 2022 to update the text and reformat to current standards

TO 3079 SW
101/13

CITY OF WESTMINSTER
BROAD SANCTUARY, SW1
(ABBEY PRECINCT AND WESTMINSTER SCHOOL)
Little Dean's Yard: Ashburnham House

24.2.58

G.V.
I

Substantial town house: Commonwealth shortly before 1662; attributed to John Webb; partial rebuild and refacing of the later C.14 Prior's Lodging of which the masonry structure and the kitchen and hall walls are incorporated; west wing added 1930 by ALN Russell. Red brick C.17 facing to the C.14 rubble walls, tiled hipped roof. Three storeys. Seven windows wide grouped as five-window centre with two-window projecting wings. Central square headed doorway in plain rusticated surround with panelled door and fanlight; semicircular arched doorway to right hand east wing. Recessed glazing bar sashes under flat brick arches. Stone plat bands to each floor and stone cornice below Portland stone parapet with terracotta urns.

Internally the plan is not symmetrical because of need to accommodate the medieval work partly exposed on the west side and in kitchen; of the fine C.17 interior the most striking feature is the staircase rising approximately on square plan in spacious open well top lit by a large lantern and dome, very ingeniously adapting the irregularities of the site: the closed string stair with substantial baluster and panelled newels rises in four irregular flights between landings, the upper part of panelled walls articulated by fluted Ionic pilasters with attached Ionic columns and free standing column at head of stairs; richly stuccoed ceiling with scrolls and flower-enriched garland to large oval opening into lantern clerestory with four windows and balustrade with dies surmounted by groups of three slender columns carrying cornice with rich garland beneath shallow dome - a lantern gallery treatment reminiscent of Francois Mansart and unique in Britain for its date; heavily carved doorcases with segmental pediments and rich acanthus scrolls; the main first floor room also has a stucco ceiling with oval garlanded centre at right angle to the facade.

For the exposed remains of the Refectory in the garden see the Great Cloisters, Broad Sanctuary.

R.C.H.M.

London Voll, N Pevsner

Dictionary of British Architects; Howard Colvin.

Listing NGR: TQ3004679409

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:
208812
Legacy System:
LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Pevsner, N, Cherry, B, The Buildings of England: London I - The Cities of London and Westminster, (1973)
Colvin, H M, A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects 1600-1840, (1978)

Legal

This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.

Ordnance survey map of Little Dean's Yard Ashburnham House

Map

This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 07-Jun-2026 at 20:56:21.

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© Crown copyright [and database rights] 2026. OS AC0000815036. Use of this mapping is subject to Terms and Conditions.

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.

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