Ashcombe House at

Swainswick Swainswick is a small village and civil parish, northeast of Bath, on the A46 in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary authority, Somerset, England. The parish has a population of 265. The village name was also spelled Sweyneswik and Sweyne ...

, north-east of

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

is a

Gothic revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

country house image:Blenheim - Blenheim Palace - 20210417125239.jpg, 300px, Blenheim Palace - Oxfordshire An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a Townhou ...

. It is a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

. Ashcombe House stands on the slopes of the Lam Valley in of grounds. It dates from the early nineteenth century, and was altered in the late nineteenth century. It started life as a hunting lodge, and there are the remains of the former kennels in the grounds. The 1900 1:10,560 scale (6 inch)

Ordnance Survey The Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see Artillery, ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of ...

map shows the building was known at that time as Ashcombe Farm, with Ashcombe Wood lying to the north-east of it. The house has a rear wing constructed from a converted coach house and stables, and has nine bedrooms and six reception rooms, including a Georgian ballroom. The house was on the market in 2003 for £1.6 million.''Western Daily Press'', 2003 house sale details Musician

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and human rights activist. He came to prominence as the original frontman of the rock band Genesis. He left the band in 1975 and launched a solo career wit ...

rented the property between 1978 and 1987 as his family home and converted the house's barn into his home studio, where he recorded three of his albums: his 1982 album ''

'', commonly known as ''4'' (or as ''Security'' in the US); the soundtrack for the film '' Birdy'', which he recorded between October and December 1984; and his album '' So'', recorded in 1985 and released in 1986. The track "My Secret Place" from the

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan Mitchell (née Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and painter. As one of the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitch ...

album ''

Chalk Mark in a Rain Storm ''Chalk Mark in a Rain Storm'' is the thirteenth studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell, released on March 23, 1988, by Geffen Records. Her third release on the label, the album features duets with a number of artists such as Pet ...

'' was recorded at Gabriel's studio at Ashcombe House in 1986, as were parts of the 1987

Robbie Robertson Jaime Royal Robertson (July 5, 1943 – August 9, 2023) was a Canadian musician of Indigenous and Jewish ancestry. He was the lead guitarist for Bob Dylan's backing band in the mid-late 1960s and early-mid 1970s. Robertson was also the ...

album ''

'' (although the sleeve credits erroneously locate Ashcombe House in London).

References

External links

Images of England page on the house
{{Authority control Grade II listed buildings in Bath and North East Somerset Peter Gabriel Country houses in Somerset Gothic Revival architecture in Somerset Grade II listed houses in Somerset