The Cafe And Lodge The Arboretum

The Cafe and Lodge at The Arboretum is a gate lodge and refreshment room built in 1872, likely designed by Edward Milner. The structure is made of dressed rubble stone with ashlar dressings and red brick that is rendered and timber-framed, topped with a Welsh slate roof. It features an ashlar plinth and quoins.

The lodge is two stories high and has three ashlar stacks. To the right, there is an ashlar gabled porch that provides access to both buildings, featuring a pointed arch entrance supported by single columns with carved stiff-leaf capitals. The inner doorway has a four-panel part-glazed door, and above it is a single three-light casement window. To the left, there is a four-light chamfered mullion window with a moulded hood and four plain sashes with horns. Above this, decorative timber-framing is present, with a central triangular-headed plain sash window and a gable adorned with decorative badge boarding and a tall finial.

The west front has a projecting gabled wing with a central doorway flanked by two single light windows in chamfered surrounds. Above this, there is timber-framing with projecting square sections supported by wooden eaves brackets. The south front features a very large central window with a pointed top, which is a three-light window with deep chamfered ashlar mullions and transoms, while the lower lights have plain sashes with horns.

The interior has not been inspected. This building was constructed to serve the Arboretum, which was laid out between 1869 and 1972, according to the designs of the notable Victorian garden designer Edward Milner.