Entrance Gates And Lodges To Bowes Museum

The entrance gates and lodges to Bowes Museum, built around 1885, were designed by J Pellechet and constructed by JE Watson of Newcastle-upon-Tyne for John Bowes. They are made of sandstone ashlar with Lakeland slate roofs and ashlar chimneys. The structure features ashlar piers and walls, complemented by wrought-iron railings and gates.

The lodges are single-storey with three windows and are positioned on either side of the entrance, which includes central vehicle gates and side pedestrian gates. They are designed in the French Baroque style. The exterior of the lodges showcases high pecked plinths and channelled rustication, with cross-casement windows. The rustication continues along the outer voussoirs, and the roofs are low-pitched with chimneys at both the front and rear, featuring swept coping. The inner returns towards the carriageway have central double six-panel doors and two windows, along with two pairs of windows at the rear.

Although the interior has not been inspected, the subsidiary features include low walls with wide chamfered coping that extend from the plinths of the lodges. These walls are interrupted by squared piers, all exhibiting channelled rustication, leading to the pedestrian and vehicle gates. The piers have a cornice and blocking course, with the central pair being taller and topped with elaborate wrought-iron lamp finials. The lamps are octagonal with high domes and raised cone-and-spike tops. The railings feature shaped heads set on a rail, with panel principals and rear stays embedded in the walls. The railings and gates include spike dogbars, and the pedestrian gates are adorned with scrolled cresting. The vehicle gates are tall, featuring serpentine heads with richly designed and gilded cresting that rises to a delicate top panel.