Berkhamsted Lodge

Berkhamsted Lodge, now a private house, is a gate lodge dating to the early 19th century. It is believed to have been built for the 7th Earl of Bridgewater around the end of his life, though drawings by Geoffry Wyatt dated 1828 exist for a structure called 'Aldbury Lodge'. The lodge is predominantly half-timbered with black exposed timbers and patterned plasterwork (pargetting), incorporating a Brownlow monogram that was coloured in 1980; the rear is of painted brick. It has steep red tile roofs. The lodge is a single-storey, Z-shaped building, with an older section facing east. A central gable is flanked by two small square towers, one with a pointed roof and the other gabled, with an open porch at its base leading to the entrance. A further gabled tower is set back at the right-hand end. The overhanging eaves of each gable feature brackets supporting the ridge, purlins, and wall plates. A central, projecting oriel window has a tiled roof. Windows are mullioned with leaded lattice casements. It was formerly known on Ordnance Survey maps as Crome Cottage. It was formerly possible to operate the gates from inside the lodge using an internal wheel mechanism. The original gates have been removed from the old road that ran between Hemel Hempstead and Aldbury.