Grove Lodge and outbuilding to south

Grove Lodge and outbuilding to south

Grove Lodge is a villa built in 1798, probably by William Custance, and extended in the second half of the 19th century. It is constructed of gault brick laid in Flemish bond with brick dressings and slate-covered roofs.

The building faces east and is set back from Trumpington Street in its own grounds. The original late 18th-century east block has a rectangular plan with apsidal bays on each end. A large Victorian extension was added at the rear. The external corridor that links the east side of Grove Lodge to the 1970s extension of the Fitzwilliam Museum, rebuilt in 1975, is excluded from the listing.

The east block of Grove Lodge displays a simple neo-Classical design typical of the late Georgian period. It is two storeys and five bays under a pitched roof with tall brick chimney stacks. The middle three bays project slightly and are pedimented, with horizontal and raking cornice-members of stone. A single-storey tetrastyle Ionic portico with an entablature of painted white wood and flat roof sits on a stylobate of three steps, occupying the same width as the projection. In the back wall is a round-headed doorway in the middle bay, now blocked, with a fanlight featuring radiating and scrolled metal glazing bars and an original door hung in two leaves each of four fielded panels. This is flanked by rectangular windows with flat brick arches in round-headed wall recesses. At first-floor sill-level is a stone platband, and the overhanging eaves are plain. The fenestration consists of six-over-six pane sash windows with thin glazing bars. The apsidal bays on each end contain three windows on the ground floor and one window above, flanked by wall recesses simulating windows. The north return-wall of a single-bay is lit by a ground-floor window, whilst the south return-wall is dominated by a single-storey entrance porch, either added or relocated in 1875, with an architrave and dentilled cornice supported by columns with Ionic capitals. The door is hung in two leaves each of three fielded panels with a rectangular overlight. To the right is a one-over-one pane sash window, and above the door a three-over-six light sash with a segmental arch upper section is set within a segmental brick arch wall recess.

To the right of the porch, the south elevation of the late 19th-century extension has a double-height square bay window lit on each floor by large one-over-one pane sashes with margin lights and narrow sashes on the return-walls. Following this, to the right, is a plainer elevation denoting the service block. This has a stone platband at first-floor sill level which continues around the other walls, and is lit by three six-over-six pane sashes on both floors, those on the first floor being shorter, under flat brick arches. The rear (west) elevation is lit by a single window on each floor of the same dimensions, and has a door of four flush panels with a rectangular overlight under a flat brick arch. The north elevation of the Victorian extension is lit by the same windows already described. It has, from the right, two window bays followed by a slightly projecting double-height bay lit by a first-floor window. The ground floor has been opened up to facilitate a flat-roofed glazed corridor on a brick plinth which links up to the 1970s extension of the Fitzwilliam Museum; this corridor is excluded from the listing. To the right, in the corner between the rear extension and the east block, there is a single-storey, flat-roofed section depicted on the 1888 Ordnance Survey map, partly rebuilt in modern brick.

Interior

The principal area of interest is the late 18th-century east block, which consists of two apsidal reception rooms with a rear staircase flanked by two further rooms. The wall between the north apsidal room and the original central entrance hall has been removed, its original position marked by a panelled beam supported by an enriched, cavello-moulded console. This room has a cornice with bead moulding and a white marble fireplace with inlaid panels of mottled green and red marble and a frieze with a husk garland, not original to the house. In the south apsidal room, the ceiling cornice is enriched with acanthus and bay leaf, and the timber fireplace, painted white (also not original to the house), has a fluted frieze and central panel with a husk garland. In both rooms, the panelled shutters, low dado, and six-panel doors with sunken panels survive. The south-west room, extended in 1875 to create an entrance hall by the removal of much of the partition wall with the stair-hall, has a panelled dado and a cornice with bead enrichment. It contains a reset timber fireplace, painted white, with a pulvinated frieze enriched with bay leaf. The cantilevered staircase has cut strings, slender square balusters without newels, and a moulded handrail, curved at the landing. It is supported by a fluted bracket of a later date.

On the first floor, the landing has a cornice of bead and acanthus enrichment. A round-arch opening with a roll moulding leads to a lobby between the two apsidal rooms, and there are narrower openings on either side. The apsidal rooms retain a moulded cornice, skirting boards with a hollow moulding, panelled window shutters, and six-panel doors in moulded frames. The north room contains an original white marble fireplace with fluted lintel and rosettes at the angles; and the south room has a timber fireplace, painted white, with a fluted lintel and festoons in the corners, and round arched inset, not original to the house.

The Victorian extension has been subject to alterations. It retains some original fixtures, fittings and joinery, including some four- or six-panel doors, fireplaces, and the servants' straight flight stair with stick balusters and moulded newel post. The room in the east, lit by the double-height bay window, has a moulded cornice and picture rail, and a fireplace surround of dark grey and yellow marble with a mantelshelf supported by consoles. The large room towards the west end retains a wide, keyed timber fireplace surround, now blocked, which was probably the opening for the kitchen range. On the first floor the west room retains a small timber fireplace surround with a cast-iron, segmental arch inset. The cellar floor is partly stone-flagged and retains brick and slate storage shelves. The scarred remains of the earlier principal staircase are evident in the brickwork.

Outbuilding to the south

The outbuilding to the south, labelled as 'offices' on the 1852 plan, is constructed of gault brick with brick dressings. The two-storey, single-bay east end has a hipped M-shaped roof clad in plain red clay tiles, whilst the single-storey, two-bay west end has a slate roof covering; both have a dentilled brick cornice and chimney stacks. The entrance on the north side of the east end has a neo-Classical style doorcase with flanking square pilasters and a dentilled cornice. The entrance on the north side of the west end has a flat canopy with panelled soffit, supported by brackets with a double curve and drop finials. The fenestration mostly consists of large sash windows, some tripartite, under segmental brick arches. The interior has been remodelled and retains very little of the original joinery and fittings other than a timber fireplace surround, painted white, with a round-arch inset. In the cellar there is a wide plank and batten door.