Ashburnham House, Grade I listed residence in Westminster, England.
Ashburnham House is a seventeenth-century residence located within Little Dean's Yard, featuring a grand staircase and multiple elegant drawing rooms on the first floor. The building displays architectural elements spanning different periods, with features indicating origins before the monastery's dissolution.
The building was constructed from parts of a medieval Prior's House, evident from stone features in the ground floor that predate the monastery's dissolution. Over the centuries, it was expanded and adapted into a grand residence while retaining fragments of its earlier structure.
The house once sheltered the Cotton library, a major collection of manuscripts documenting English constitutional history. These documents are now held as crucial materials within the British Library.
The house operates as part of Westminster School and access is limited to selected occasions. Check ahead with the school to find out when viewings or special open days are available.
During World War II, the house served as a Royal Air Force communications station disguised under the cover name 'The Churchill Club' for senior military meetings. Few visitors know about this hidden chapter of its wartime service.
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