Sydney Lodge Including Stable

Sydney Lodge, built between 1789 and 1798, was designed by Sir John Soane. It is a two-storey building with a basement and attic, arranged around an almost square plan. The facades are symmetrical, although dissimilar in their architectural treatment, and characterised by simple classical forms with a refinement of detail. The roof is low-pitched slate, hipped at the corners. The walls are built of yellow brick in a Flemish bond, with flat rubbed arches. A plain stone parapet sits atop a stone cornice featuring a simple moulding and slight projection, augmented by T-shaped brick modillions. A plain stone band runs along the first floor. The plinth features an upper stone band, which serves as the ground floor cill line, and a single moulding. Below this is brick walling of six courses and a substantial stone base marked at the top by a single moulding and cambered openings providing light to the basement via ground-level grills. The windows are hard-wood sashes set in reveals.

The west (entrance) front has a 1-1-1 window configuration (with two dormers above the outer windows), featuring a slightly recessed centre and recessed corners. The ground floor windows are within recessed arched frames that have a stone band at impost level. A segmental central porch is supported by two Greek Doric columns, with a simplified entablature including widely spaced triglyphs. An arched doorway is flanked by narrow windows. The south front has a 1-3-1 window arrangement (without dormers), again with ground floor windows in arched recesses. The east front also has a 1-3-1 window arrangement (with two dormers) and includes a semi-circular central projection with recessed corners. Ground floor windows here lack the arched recesses and are tall; the central window is a French-light opening onto a paved terrace with steps to the garden. A trellis balcony is located on the first floor of the central projection. A Victorian conservatory is attached to the southern wall of the facade. The north front has five windows, with a central dormer above a narrow window and above a pedimented doorway. This facade is partly obscured by modern additions.

The interior retains substantial original features, including fireplaces with white marble and Grecian ornament, and a top-lit staircase hall with its original architectural detailing. Partitions have been added. Connected to the north of the main house is the stable block, featuring a symmetrical two-storey unit at the northern end of the courtyard. This includes a small domed open cupola above a square clock tower. The single-storey west wing has a bold, coupled chimney stack with a central arched opening. Though the stable block’s form is simple and refined in proportion, it is incomplete and has recent additions. The house itself is virtually unaltered and represents a fine example of Soane's interpretation of classical themes, using a simplified system of details with extreme refinement.