Stable Block At Dunchurch Lodge

The stable block at Dunchurch Lodge is a country house structure built in 1907 by Gilbert Fraser of Liverpool for John Lancaster. It has undergone additions and alterations in 1952 and 1958. The building is constructed of red brick with ashlar dressings and features Westmoreland slate roofs, complete with large coped ridge stacks. It showcases a Renaissance Revival style, with quoins and coped gables, and is arranged around a square stable yard that is enclosed on all sides.

The entrance front is highlighted by a central square water tower, which has three stages, full height pilasters, square pinnacles, and cornices, culminating in a setback leaded spire topped with a wind vane shaped like a man shooting. The carriage entrance features a moulded segment arched opening with a hood and double wooden gates with balusters. Above this, there is a three-light stone mullioned window on both the front and rear. Higher up, on each side, there is a blank panel topped with a dormer that has a round window and a semicircular pediment.

Flanking the tower are low ranges with stone mullioned windows of various sizes. Above these, there are box dormers, with three on the left featuring original glazing and two on the right with UPVC windows. The left return is a mid-20th century addition with two storeys and six bays, featuring casement windows. The right return has seven bays and includes a continuous dormer with late 20th century glazing. A Baroque style roof ventilator with a leaded dome is also present.

At the rear, within the stable yard, the windows and doors have been reglazed in their original openings with stone surrounds. The mid-20th century paving in the stable yard includes inlaid designs of engineering instruments. The rear wing features a round-arched through-eaves dormer on each side, one with a cross-mullioned casement and the other with a door and overlight, as well as box dormers. On the southeast side, there is a large opening with 20th century glazing, flanked by a half-glazed door and a mullioned window. On the northwest side, there is a mid-20th century covered way with a flat roof and brick piers. The interior has been extensively refitted in the mid and late 20th century.