Oulton Lodge

Oulton Lodge is a farmhouse dating to approximately 1860-65, constructed for the 8th Marquis of Lothian of Blickling Hall. It is built of red brick with machine tiled roofs, incorporating some plain tiles. Brick stacks feature ornamental flues, reflecting an Elizabethan Revival style.

The east facade, which serves as the main entrance, is two storeys high with a three-window range. A central projection forms an open porch with two plain columns topped by concave-sided star capitals, supporting a moulded cornice. Within the porch, the inner side walls are panelled. The entrance door is of six panels with a matching overlight and side lights. The upper floor of the porch is a room with exposed timber studwork and a two-light mullioned window. A timber cartouche sits above this window, and ornate cusped and sub-cusped bargeboards extend through the eaves. The main facade is lit by three-light mullioned cross casements on the ground floor, set within stone architraves, and two-light mullioned windows to the first floor, similarly adorned with bargeboards. Two symmetrically arranged stacks have shafts decorated with chevron, diaper, spiral, and billet motifs, each topped with a star.

The south return features a bay window with a hipped roof, fitted with single- and three-light cross casements. A rear wing on the south elevation has a two-storey design with two dormers lighting the upper floor. The elevation has a two-window range with two-light casements and a central six-panelled door set beneath a segmental gauged skewback arch. An internal gable-end stack is located on the north side of this wing, and the north return has two two-light casements on each floor. The north return also includes a full-height outshut against the rear wing and a gabled two-storey staircase tower.

The reception rooms to the east feature six-panel doors, arranged in two tiers of three. The north-east ground floor room has a marble chimneypiece and five-panel rising shutters to the east window. The south-east room has horizontally-sliding window shutters with two panels on the east side, and rising shutters to the south bay window. A timber chimneypiece with dentilation, a guilloche cornice, and a Greek urn motif is located centrally on the frieze. The ceiling incorporates two timber bridging beams and beading trim on the plasterwork, creating rectilinear panels. A closed-string staircase has splat balusters with expanded bases and tops, a moulded handrail, and tapering splat newels. Service rooms to the rear have simpler six-panel doors. A former dairy in the north-west contains two dairy bench arches. The first floor has four-panel doors.

Oulton Lodge is an attractive farmhouse showcasing distinctive estate features from its period, including the star-topped Tudor stacks, half-timbering, six-panel doors arranged in two tiers of three, and varied window shutter types. The staircase design is notably advanced for its time. Although modernized in the 20th century, the house largely retains its historic character.