Ashtons was a housebuilder in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.

History

Norman Ashton started his Leeds-based housebuilding business in 1933, and it was incorporated in 1938 as Norman C Ashton Ltd. Following the outbreak of war in 1939, the company was restricted to contracting for local authorities; it also established a motor repair business. Private housebuilding resumed after the war and when Ashton was floated in 1964 it claimed to be one of the largest housebuilders operating in the

West Riding The West Riding of Yorkshire was one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the riding was an administrative county named County of York, West Riding. The lieutenancy at that time included the city of York a ...

. Growth was only modest thereafter and Ashton was acquired by Orme in 1972. The company constructed many homes in northern England during the 1960s and 1970s. It was 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 were built in close proximity with

council housing Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as council housing or social housing, provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011, when the number of households in private rental housing surpassed the number in social housing. D ...

;

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 Leeds city centre situated between Tinshill, Cookridge and Adel, Leeds, Adel, and is at the edge of ...

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

was a joint project between Ashtons and

Leeds City Council Leeds City Council is the local authority of the City of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. Leeds has had a council since 1626, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1974 it has been a metropolitan borough council. It provides the ...

Ainsty The Ainsty or the Ainsty of York was a historic district of Yorkshire, England, west of the city of York. Originally a wapentake or subdivision of the West Riding of Yorkshire it later had a unique status as a rural area controlled by the corpo ...

Wetherby Wetherby ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is close to West Yorkshire county's border with North Yorkshire and lies approximately from Leeds city centre, from ...

is also a large mixed development with many Ashtons and Leeds City Council houses.

Knottingley Knottingley is a town in the City of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England on the River Aire and the old A1 road before it was bypassed as the A1(M). Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it has a population of 13,503, increasing ...

Mirfield Mirfield () is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is on the A644 road (Great B ...

and

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

also include many Ashtons houses.

Controversies

The company was at the centre of a controversy concerning a

covenant Covenant may refer to: Religion * Covenant (religion), a formal alliance or agreement made by God with a religious community or with humanity in general ** Covenant (biblical), in the Hebrew Bible ** Covenant in Mormonism, a sacred agreement b ...

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.

References

{{Construction industry of the United Kingdom Housebuilding companies of the United Kingdom 1972 disestablishments in England British companies disestablished in 1972 British companies established in 1953 1953 establishments in England