Old Lodge Cottages

Old Lodge Cottages are two cottages that were extended from a single keeper's lodge. They date back to the 17th century and were extended to the northeast in the 19th or early 20th century. The cottages are timber framed, with stone rubble on the ground floor and tile-hung above. They feature a plain tile half-hipped roof and a central chimney stack, which is likely partly from the 17th century. The building has a three-bay central chimney house that was extended as mentioned.

On the ground floor, there are four two-light casement windows, two of which have leaded glazing. Above, to the right, is a similar window and a small leaded window on the landing. The northeast cross-wing is styled similarly, with a southeast projecting tile-hung gable above brick, an external stone chimney breast, and a single-storey stone wing with a plain tile roof. The northwest end of the cross-wing jetties out and is adjacent to a two-storey timber-framed porch.

Inside, the original framing of the northeast wall is visible on both the first and ground floors, featuring a central first-floor post with small straight braces. Original framing can also be seen in the southeast wall and in timber-framed partitions on both floors. The southwest truss has jowled posts, and this end wall is clad externally with brick on stone. The northeast ground floor room has a chamfered ceiling beam with joists, and a fireplace with a bressumer and stone brackets.

This is the only remaining keeper's lodge in Ashdown Forest, as the other six prominent keepers' lodges did not survive the partial enclosure of the Forest in 1693. The existing structure matches the description of the keeper's lodge at Old Lodge from the Parliamentary Surveys of Ashdown Forest conducted in 1658.