The Old Coach House and Sunny Lodge is a Grade II listed building in the Thanet local planning authority area, England. First listed on 8 May 2002. House. 1 related planning application.
The Old Coach House and Sunny Lodge
- WRENN ID
- white-soffit-sparrow
- Grade
- II
- Local Planning Authority
- Thanet
- Constituency
- Herne Bay and Sandwich MP: Sir Roger Gale (Con)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 8 May 2002
- Type
- House
- Address
- The Old Coach House and Sunny Lodge, Spencer Road, Birchington, CT7 9EY
- OS grid reference
- TR 302 697
- Coordinates
- 51.38035, 1.30744
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The Old Coach House and Sunny Lodge are two houses that were originally built as a pair of stables with servants' quarters above around 1882. The architect was John Pollard Seddon, and the decorative sgraffito panels were created by sculptor George Frampton. The ground floor is roughcast, while the first floor features applied timber framing and roughcast. The roof is a half-hipped design with renewed pantiles and a brick chimney stack topped with terracotta.
The building stands two storeys tall, with three windows on the sides and two on the front. Some original windows with glazing bars remain on the first floor, alongside some replacement windows. The ground floor includes 20th-century metal-framed casements and French windows. There are penticed brick porches and garage extensions added in the 20th century on the sides. Sunny Lodge has an extension that was added in 1911. A notable external feature is a series of sgraffito panels depicting cherubs engaged in Kentish games and pastimes, along with a panel on the front inscribed "J P Seddon ARIBA Arch."
Inside, Sunny Lodge retains its original half-winder staircase, although the stick balusters are covered. It also features some four-panelled doors and a first-floor room with original built-in cupboards and a wooden bolection-moulded fireplace with a tiled surround. The Old Coach House has a similar staircase.
Historically, these buildings are two of five stables with servants' accommodation built to serve Seddon's Tower Bungalows. The sgraffito panels may have been crafted in Frampton's studio and assembled on site, illustrating scenes such as skaters, a blacksmith with an anvil and horseshoes, cherubs pulling a chariot, and sailing ships. There are very few examples of sgraffito work in England, and the ones at Birchington are believed to be the only examples created by George Frampton.
Local climate
The Old Coach House and Sunny Lodge sits in a drier-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 710 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 87% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 67% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 8 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 94% of listed buildings. Of these, 4 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
More on this building
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- No EPC on record for this property
- Sale history — 2 transactions since 1999
- Related listed building consents — 1 application
- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- Flood risk assessment
- Radon risk assessment
- Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
Matched applications, energy data and sale records are assembled automatically and may contain errors. Flag incorrect data.
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