King's Lodge

King's Lodge is a house, now a hotel, dating back to the early 17th century, with alterations from the 18th and 19th centuries, and a substantial rear wing added in 1896. The exterior is constructed of dressed blue lias stone with a brick first floor, partly stuccoed, and features a steeply pitched tile roof with stone end stacks possessing rendered, diagonally-set shafts, and cross-axial stacks. The building is arranged in an L-shape with a rear cross wing.

The front elevation is symmetrical, consisting of two bays. It has a continuous dripstone and a stuccoed first floor. The entrance has a four-panel door in a pegged frame, protected by a gabled timber porch with arch braces. A three-light recessed chamfered-mullioned window is located on the left, with one light partly blocked; the window on the right has a three-light transomed casement. The first floor mirrors this with cross-casements fitted with iron opening leaves and small-paned glazing. A lateral stack is positioned at the left end, and a large projecting stack is at the right.

The left return side continues the dripstone above two-light, three-light, and four-light recessed chamfered-mullioned windows. The brick first floor includes a gable to the right end and five two-light casements in heavy pegged frames, some with iron opening casements, and a single light. A cross-axial stack features a diagonal shaft. The gabled right return exhibits similar details, including a mullioned window and a lean-to outshut with a segmental-headed window and entrance.

The rear of the building shows a courtyard with a dripstone running around three sides. To the left is a double-chamfered window with a three-light transomed casement, alongside two first-floor windows, one being a horizontally sliding sash and the other a casement. The centre features a four-light mullioned window with a blocked entrance to the left and a three-light transomed casement on the first floor. To the right, the 19th-century wing is built with rock-faced stone on the ground floor and incorporates a three-light mullioned window and an oriel with a hipped roof on the first floor. The gable end includes a three-light window with an oriel above, and a datestone inscribed “1896/ VIC. LX.” A rear projecting lateral stack and some triangular-headed windows are also present.

The interior includes a main room with a large spine beam and a fireplace featuring an ovolo-moulded bressumer and side benches. A cupboard is built into a blocked entrance and window seat is present. There are also some timber-framed walls and a 19th-century staircase.

Local legend recounts that Charles II stayed at the property in 1651 and was reprimanded by the cook for burning the meat.