Beeston Lodge And Attached Boundary Walls

Beeston Lodge and Attached Boundary Walls

A lodge to the country house and attached walls, built in 1832 and designed by Sir Jeffry Wyatville for the 6th Lord Middleton. The building was constructed following the Nottingham Reform riots of October 1831 and has important historical connections to the history of Wollaton Hall and these events.

The lodge employs defensive fireproof construction throughout. The exterior is built of coursed gritstone ashlar with a fine punched face and draughted margins. The roof is flat, finished in asphalt. The style is heavy Gothick, featuring "martello-type" round outer towers with battlements and a pronounced batter to the base of the walls. A square central gatehouse connects to the towers at second floor level. The building rises three storeys, with the third storey contained within the central gatehouse.

The gatehouse displays a central Tudor arched carriage entrance with an ashlar oriel window above, containing five lights. The soffit of this oriel disguises two square openings into the third floor for defensive purposes, possibly to allow firing a gun through. Double timber gates hang in the carriage arch on harr-hinges within a reveal, reinforced with a cast-iron outer frame and twelve panels inset with strapwork design. All cast-iron rails and stiles are bolted to the frame. Modern steel deer fencing is fixed to the outer reveal. A moulded string course runs across the central gatehouse on both the Derby Road and park elevations.

The rear elevation contains four slit windows on the second floor. A parapet with four corner pinnacles is finished with large cast-iron octagonal chimney pots. Narrow slit windows are distributed throughout the building with cast-iron frames and replacement 20th-century glazing, though one surviving diamond-paned leaded-light window remains on the rear elevation. At ground floor level within the arched entrance, opposing Tudor-style plank and batten doors with applied fillets are studded and reinforced in iron. The soffit to the carriage entrance features cast-iron decorative beams supporting ashlar stone slab flooring. Beyond the lodge on each side, ashlar walls border Derby Road, with gabled stone coping. Each wall measures approximately 3 metres high and 25 metres long.

The interior construction is fireproof and defensive throughout. The floors employ cast-iron decorative beams supporting stone slab flooring. Walls are finished in fine tooled ashlar without plaster. Heavy-duty doors onto the central roof are metal-plated, riveted, and bolted; one door has been removed from its hinges and lies flat. Internal flues are incorporated into the staircase designs. An enclosed stone winder stair provides access to all levels. Internal timber doors are metal-plated with integral locking bolts, hung on pivoting hinges for added security and designed to close flush into recessed rebates within the ashlar. The second floor contains cast-iron fireplaces with small hob-grates. Fireplaces on other floors have Tudor-arched stone surrounds. Four anchor points are present on the main roof of unknown function, possibly intended to support a cannon. The structure is a rare type that remains virtually unaltered.