The Old Coach House And Sunny Lodge

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.