South Lodge to Norris Castle

Gate lodge, built in about the 1920s at Norris Castle. Architect unknown.

MATERIALS: cast stone (imitating quarry-faced natural stone and ashlar) with concrete lintels.

PLAN: a two-storey building, three bays long and a single bay wide, with canted bay windows to the north and south elevations. It is orientated north to south, parallel with the approach road to the landscaped park.

EXTERIOR: the main façade is symmetrical, comprising three bays facing the approach road at the east. The central bay forms a crenelated square tower projecting forward slightly from the elevation. It rises above the main roof to an attic level containing a blind oculus. On the ground floor is a round-headed arched doorway with a timber-panelled door under an overlight with Y-tracery. It is flanked by paired pointed sash windows in round-headed openings. The arches of the openings are formed of cast stone moulded to imitate ashlar, in contrast to the quarry-faced finish of the walls. There are three pairs of squared-headed horned sashes to the first floor, each with concrete lintels, beneath a flat roof with a crenelated parapet.

The west elevation is an irregular composition with four bays to the ground floor; a square-headed doorway flanked by two small square top-hung windows, and a large square-headed fixed window. There are two narrow square-headed sashes to the first floor, positioned towards the south end of the west wall.

The north and south elevations have canted bay windows; paired pointed sash windows under round-headed openings to the ground floor and square-headed sashes to the first floor.

INTERIOR: the main entrance leads to a small entrance hall; to the south is a kitchen and to the north is a lounge with a brick fireplace. A straight staircase with a timber handrail leads from the lounge to the first floor which contains two bedrooms and a bathroom.

Pursuant to s1 (5A) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (‘the Act’) it is declared that the later C20 sanitary ware in the bathroom of the lodge is not of special architectural or historic interest.