Coddenham Lodge

Coddenham Lodge

A lodge and lodge gates to Shrubland Hall, built around 1850. The building is constructed of gault brick laid in Flemish bond with gault brick and stone dressings, and a slate roof.

The lodge occupies the north-eastern point of Shrubland Park, situated on high ground above a retaining wall on Sandy Lane. The original mid-19th century lodge with a later colonnade on the west side form a rectangular plan. An early 21st century extension on the south-east side is not included in the listing.

The lodge is designed in an irregular Italianate style with a tall, narrow composition that gives the impression of a tower, emphasised by the gabled bellcote chimney and its elevated position above the road. It has two storeys and an attic beneath a pitched roof with a split gable top, the west pitch being lower than the east. Each storey is wider than the one above, extending outward on the east side under a pitched roof, with wide eaves supported by shaped brackets.

A flight of stone steps on the west side leads up to a raised walkway laid in black and buff-coloured chequerboard tiles, which wraps around the north and west sides of the lodge. This walkway is sheltered on the west side by a colonnade featuring semi-circular arches at either end supported by square brick columns with wide bases and stone capitals, and three inner square openings with unadorned columns. On the north side, the colonnade is simplified, becoming three square columns joined by a single beam and open to the sky.

The lodge is entered on the west side through a door, replaced in 2021. The first floor is lit by a centrally placed eight-over-eight pane sash window in a moulded stone surround. The north gable end is dominated by staggered roofs and a corbelled chimney projecting at first floor level. The chimney rises above the ridge into a gabled bellcote with four arched openings and a chimney pot instead of a bell. On the ground floor, the right side is lit by a six-over-six pane sash window in a lugged stone surround. Directly above, the first floor has a moulded stone surround, the lower half of which is bricked up with a wooden casement inserted in the upper half. To the left is a small semicircular arch sash window with margin lights lighting the landing. The attic is lit on the left by a small window in a square opening.

The north-east corner of the lodge projects beyond the retaining wall where it forms a brick corbel. The east elevation is lit on the ground floor by a wide semicircular arch window with batwing wooden glazing bars in the top half, though the multi-pane lower half is a replacement. A casement window to the left appears to be a replacement, as evidenced by more recent brickwork below. A small semi-circular window lights the staircase on the first floor, and the attic above is blind. The south elevation is lit on each floor by different window styles: the ground floor has a six-over-six pane sash in a lugged stone surround, the first floor has a smaller sash under a gauged brick arch, and the attic has a casement in a plain opening.

The interior contains two rooms on the ground floor and one room on the upper floors. The joinery, fixtures and fittings are simple, as befits an estate lodge, and include two or four-panel doors with brass knobs and lock cases. The east ground-floor room retains a substantial wooden fireplace surround with a mantelshelf supported by shaped brackets, originally containing a kitchen range. The fireplace surround in the west room was made by the current owner. The closed well stair has winders at the top and features a moulded handrail and chamfered square newel post. The first-floor room retains a plain wooden fireplace surround with a decorative cast-iron inset and grate.

Attached by a wall to the raised colonnade on the west side of the lodge is one of a pair of ornate octagonal brick gate piers. These have octagonal brick bases and moulded stone capitals surmounted by ball finials decorated with acanthus leaves and conical finials. The decorative timber gates have chamfered posts forming two large crosses, at the intersection of which are metal roundels bearing the intertwined initials W and A. Adjoining the west gate pier by a wall is the brick opening of a well, sheltered by a gabled brick semi-circular arch with a red tiled roof and bargeboards.