Welcome to Ashwells - a brief history of the building

Those words were those of the mayor of Brentwood - but not only local Brentwood which only achieved mayoral status in 1993. This was the mayor of Brentwood Tennessee, visiting his town's English namesake back in 1990. Mayor Harold Lindstren, arriving at Ashwells Country Club with half a dozen other Brentwood Tennesseeans for dinner, was definitely impressed. "This sure is a real pretty place, and it must be pretty old too" he said, with general agreement from his party.

In one sense he was right - Ashwells, with it's olde world charm, picturesque surroundings and floodlit pool, is indeed a real pretty place. As far as being "old" or "new" however, the answer is a little of both, for how a breath of new life was brought into old buildings.

With it's buildings lovingly and carefully restored, Ashwells provides its members with a comfortable surrounding in which they can enjoy a lifestyle of their own choosing, its hard to remember it as it was before.

It was back in the mid eighties when builder John Evans and his family decided that they could put their love of sport and exercise to good use by transforming Ashwells into a sports and country club.

Ashwells has been farmed for several centuries and some of the farm buildings surrounding the old, traditional, farmyard looked as if they went back even further. To be honest however some of them, notably the old hay barn at the far end were more than a little neglected, (the roof had caved in, and some of the walls were tumbling down).

The stables flanking the farmyard were emptied of horses to become gymnasiums, complete with steam rooms and the like. That old barn became the main building of the club with its amply stocked bar and restaurant, and as for the cobbled farmyard - well, that was turned into the central feature of the whole club; a heated and floodlit swimming pool and courtyard.

By 1987, with the work now mainly complete, members had begun joining the club and taking advantage of its facilities, which now includes tennis courts. A year or so later a spectacular conservatory was added and is now a popular venue for weddings and other celebrations.

Even now, without the outdoor and indoor bowls rinks that are planned, the club is very popular. Almost a thousand members - most of them from the Brentwood area use its facilities and even more visit to attend the various functions and events held there during the year.

Those of a less energetic nature can enjoy a quiet pint there or take guests to enjoy the splendid cuisine created by their Resident Chef.

Ashwells Sports and Country Club is many things. It is an amenity valued by many local people, and a symbol of what can be achieved through enterprise and hard work.

The fact that Ashwells attracts so many compliments for its appearance now, is a tribute to the skills of the builders and owners.

THE HISTORY

A "Real Pretty Place"