Ramkin Residence

In Ankh-Morpork, Ramkin House estate occupies a good length of Scoone Avenue near King's Way on the moneyed slope of Ankh. Ramkin House is located on a hilly section of Scoone Avenue, "a wide, tree-lined, incredibly select part of Ankh". The house commanded an outcrop that gave it a magnificent view of the city" (Guards! Guards!). The gatepost has stone dragons, and the garden has stone statuary of Ramkin ancestors. The grounds are large and include dragon pens, an ornamental pool, etc. According to the map app, across from Ramkin House, on the corner of Scoone Avenue and Chrononhotonthologos Street, there is a pub — The Dragon & Bars — that had formerly been the Ramkin estate gatehouse.

When Sam Vimes first saw the estate, the gardens were overgrown, vines covering the statues of past Ramkins. Lady Sybil lived in three rooms of the vast mansion, in an ascetic manner that outraged Nobby Nobbs (rich people have no right to live like poor people). Since becoming the seat of the Duke of Ankh and Commander of the City Watch, the old place has been spruced up and aired out, and more staff hired. (There's the dignity of the title, and entertaining, and a baby, of course.) When he moved in, Sir Samuel began an array of booby traps around the house to guard against Assassins. The Assassins will no longer entertain any contract on His Grace, but students may be unable to resist the challenge of creeping "Old Stoneface's" house for a virtual attack. They always regret this bravado.

The estate has a large group of dragon pens behind the house, built with very thick walls, but a flimsy, umbrella-like roof. This style is popular for explosives factories as well. At one point (Thud!) Lady Sybil had 26 dragons in the pens. Spare capacity in the dragon pens and elsewhere in the grounds was used to house the animal population of the College of Heralds, following an inexplicable outbreak of fire there. It is not known if any of the menagerie is still there at the Ramkin household, but Roderick the hippopotamus and his close friend Keith really appreciated the freedom of the ornamental lake (see Feet of Clay). Given Vimes' penchant for making the house and grounds Assassin-proof, and knowing the territorial imperative of hippos defending a wallowing hole, and knowing that an angry hippo can bite a man in half.... bets, anyone?

Country Home: Ramkin Hall is a large country estate located in Quirm. It is dubbed "Crundells" and provides the setting for Snuff.

Other Properties: The Ramkins /Vimes hold the deeds to numerous other properties. For one example, young Lady Sybil occasionally stayed at a secondary Ramkin home on Isle of Gods near the Opera House at Pseudopolis Yard. In Guards! Guards! she deeded it over to become the headquarters of Ankh-Morpork City Watch. For another example, Sam Vimes deeded their Goose Gate corner property to Dr. Lawn, who converted it into a hospital.