Ashwick Theatre, Dulverton

Ashwick Theatre, also known as the Green Room or Music Room, was built by Yorkshire businessman Frank Green (d. 1953) in the grounds of Ashwick House. He was said to have moved to Ashwick House on medical advice to escape the polluted air of the industrial north. He was a wealthy bachelor who gave his house in York, the Treasurer’s House, to the National Trust.

He possibly missed the cultural life of York and so c.1930 he had a music room or theatre built. Frank Green’s relations and staff were entertained there. The timber-clad building had a tiled roof and stood on staddle stones near the drive. It had a stage and a green room and was decorated with paintings, most famously the trompe d'oeil boxes.

After falling into decay it was restored with new roof and cladding and is part of the Moorland Mousie Trust’s lease of Ashwick stables and grounds and not normally open to the public. The building can be seen from the outside when visiting the Exmor Pony centre.