Ashtons
Encyclopedia
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
house builder.
History
The Company was founded by Norman Ashton. The Company constructed many homes in the North of England during the 1960s and 1970s. Ashtons were one of several pioneers of the british three bed semi, a style of house used frequently from the 1940s until the 1970s, they also built many four and five bedroomed detached houses. Most Ashtons housing are built in close proximity with council housing; Holt ParkHolt Park
Holt Park is a medium-sized low-rise 1970s housing estate in the northwest suburbs of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is approximately from the Leeds city centre situated between Tinshill, Cookridge and Adel, and is at the edge of the Leeds metropolitan urban fringe, bordering the green belt...
in Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
was a joint project between Ashtons and Leeds City Council
Leeds City Council
Leeds City Council is the local authority for the City of Leeds metropolitan district of West Yorkshire, England.-History:The city council was established in 1974, with the first elections being held in advance in 1973...
. Ainsty
Ainsty, Wetherby
Ainsty is an area of Wetherby, West Yorkshire. Ainsty is situated to the North of Wetherby and runs as far as the border between North and West Yorkshire, to the north of this is Kirk Deighton.-Location:...
in Wetherby
Wetherby
Wetherby is a market town and civil parish within the metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, in West Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Wharfe, and has been for centuries a crossing place and staging post on the Great North Road, being mid-way between London and Edinburgh...
is also a large mixed development with many Ashtons and Leeds City Council
Leeds City Council
Leeds City Council is the local authority for the City of Leeds metropolitan district of West Yorkshire, England.-History:The city council was established in 1974, with the first elections being held in advance in 1973...
houses mixed in. Many places such as Holt Park
Holt Park
Holt Park is a medium-sized low-rise 1970s housing estate in the northwest suburbs of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is approximately from the Leeds city centre situated between Tinshill, Cookridge and Adel, and is at the edge of the Leeds metropolitan urban fringe, bordering the green belt...
, Wetherby
Wetherby
Wetherby is a market town and civil parish within the metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, in West Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Wharfe, and has been for centuries a crossing place and staging post on the Great North Road, being mid-way between London and Edinburgh...
, Knottingley
Knottingley
Knottingley is a town within the metropolitan borough of the City of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England on the River Aire and the A1 road. It has a population of 13,503....
, Mirfield
Mirfield
Mirfield is a small town and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England. It is located on the A644 road between Brighouse and Dewsbury...
and Washington
Washington, Tyne and Wear
Washington is a town in the City of Sunderland in Tyne and Wear, England. Historically part of County Durham, it joined a new county in 1974 with the creation of Tyne and Wear...
consist of many Ashtons houses. Ashtons were acquired by Orme Developments in 1972.
Style of Building
Most Ashtons houses were clad with pebble dash, although stone claddingStone cladding
Stone cladding is a thin layer of stone or simulated stone applied to a building or other structure made of a material other than stone. Stone cladding is sometimes applied to concrete and steel buildings as part of their original architectural design....
, painted rendering
Stucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
and wooden cladding were also used. Ashton homes embraced growing car ownership of the time, thus very few Ashton houses were built without a garage. Also incorporated into the designs was the need for natural light, and Ashton homes (as well as other homes built in the same era) are advantageous in this respect, in that they were constructed with a generous number of large windows (often floor to ceiling with a split lower down or in the centre), typically in the sitting rooms and low window sills elsewhere (especially in the bedrooms). Many Ashton houses, in particular larger detached ones, were built with first floor dormer roofs that were wooden clad. While this was space saving and undoubtedly cut costs, they were liable to leaking and penetrative damp, which became problematic as the houses aged. Nonetheless, flat felt roofs were used on a majority of houses constructed, with white softwood borders (and eves and soffits) under the top roof. Many of the dorma facias have since been refurbished using UPVC, while the windows to the side of the dorma, which were liable to leak as they caught water running from the roof have been removed on most Ashtons properties.
Controversies
The company was at the centre of a controversy concerning a covenant on one of their early developments in 1956. This resulted in the Bell v Norman C. Ashton Ltd (1956) P&CR 359 case which came before the Leeds Courts. Ashton had purchased land with a covenant that meant they could not build on it.Like most volume house builders, Ashtons had been criticised for the number of houses they had built. Ashtons often concentrated their projects in small areas throughout Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
and the North East of England, meaning that many towns were transformed by these Ashtons estates which were all very similar. Some areas were previously small towns, however grew significantly since development by Ashtons. Since the expansion of Kellingley Colliery
Kellingley Colliery
Kellingley Colliery is one of the newest of the few deep coal mines left in Britain today. It is situated at Beal in North Yorkshire, about east of Knottingley in West Yorkshire, on the A645, although the postal address is Knottingley, West Yorkshire, and east of Ferrybridge power station. The...
and Ferrybridge Power Station
Ferrybridge power station
The Ferrybridge power stations refers to a series of three coal-fired power stations situated on the River Aire in West Yorkshire, England. The first station on the site, Ferrybridge A power station, was constructed in the mid-1920s, and was closed as the second station, Ferrybridge B power...
in the 1960s and 1970s, demand for housing in Knottingley
Knottingley
Knottingley is a town within the metropolitan borough of the City of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England on the River Aire and the A1 road. It has a population of 13,503....
grew significantly, Ashtons took on most of this work throughout this period. Demand for homes in Wetherby
Wetherby
Wetherby is a market town and civil parish within the metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, in West Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Wharfe, and has been for centuries a crossing place and staging post on the Great North Road, being mid-way between London and Edinburgh...
grew as it became a groing commuter town for Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, which was becoming an important commercial centre. Ashtons undertook most private development in Wetherby over this area. Ashtons also played a part in building the new town
New town
A new town is a specific type of a planned community, or planned city, that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed in a previously undeveloped area. This contrasts with settlements that evolve in a more ad hoc fashion. Land use conflicts are uncommon in new...
of Washington
Washington, Tyne and Wear
Washington is a town in the City of Sunderland in Tyne and Wear, England. Historically part of County Durham, it joined a new county in 1974 with the creation of Tyne and Wear...
.
Popular culture
In the BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Sitcom, Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads, Bob Ferris
Bob Ferris
Robert Eugene Ferris is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. The 6'6", 225 lb. right-hander was drafted by the California Angels in the 2nd round of the 1976 amateur draft, and he played for the Angels in 1979 and 1980.Ferris was called up to the Angels after a 14-7 season with the Salt...
and his wife Thelma purchase an Ashtons home in Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
. In the 1976 film The Likely Lads
The Likely Lads (film)
The Likely Lads is a 1976 British comedy film directed by Michael Tuchner, starring James Bolam and Rodney Bewes. It's a spin-off from the popular 1960s British television series The Likely Lads, from which it takes its title, though in fact it's closer in tone to the more recent sequel series...
, Bob then lives in a larger detached Ashtons home. The home was used to portray the couples aspiring middle class suburban lifestyle, in reality this perception of the homes may not have been accurate, due to the fact most Ashtons houses were part of larger social housing projects.
Large Ashtons Estates
The following are large estates in which Ashtons housing made up a significant proportion.- Ainsty Estate, WetherbyWetherbyWetherby is a market town and civil parish within the metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, in West Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Wharfe, and has been for centuries a crossing place and staging post on the Great North Road, being mid-way between London and Edinburgh...
, West YorkshireWest YorkshireWest Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
(in combination with Leeds City Council as well as later private developers) - Holt ParkHolt ParkHolt Park is a medium-sized low-rise 1970s housing estate in the northwest suburbs of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is approximately from the Leeds city centre situated between Tinshill, Cookridge and Adel, and is at the edge of the Leeds metropolitan urban fringe, bordering the green belt...
, LeedsLeedsLeeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, West YorkshireWest YorkshireWest Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
(in partnership with Leeds City Council) - OtleyOtley-Transport:The main roads through the town are the A660 to the south east, which connects Otley to Bramhope, Adel and Leeds city centre, and the A65 to the west, which goes to Ilkley and Skipton. The A6038 heads to Guiseley, Shipley and Bradford, connecting with the A65...
, LeedsLeedsLeeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, West YorkshireWest YorkshireWest Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
: the Cambridge and Newall areas of the town, although built in the 1960s, have much stock of a similar, if not identical, design to that in Holt Park (some differences can be seen, for example, in terms of use of cladding, window sizes and chimnies).