Battledsden Lodge

Battlesden Lodge is a late 19th-century entrance lodge constructed between 1860 and 1868 as part of work for Battlesden House (now demolished). The design was by G H Stokes, with advice from Sir Joseph Paxton, for Sir Edward Page-Turner. It is built in a Free Gothic style using red brick with ashlar dressings and slate roofs. The original lodge is a small T-plan building of one storey and attics. It features 2 and 3-light mullion and transom windows with brick aprons and cornices surmounted by ashlar. A canted bay extends from the ground floor of the northwest gable. A porch is set into the west angle, with a moulded square-headed opening featuring impost blocks and a heavy keystone topped by an engaged ball finial. A moulded string course runs at first-floor level along the main elevations, projecting above the cornices of the canted bay and porch. Stone coping defines the gables and parapets, and decorative stone finials adorn the gables. Chimney stacks have moulded stone cornices. A later addition was built to the rear in the 19th century. The lodge is similar in style to Milton Lodge, Milton Bryan. Records held at the Beds Record Office (T18/36) include a lease from 1868.