Blagdon Lodge

A rustic-style fishing lodge built in c1900 by the Bristol Waterworks Company on the south-west shore of Blagdon Lake, formerly called the Yeo Reservoir, and possibly designed by Charles Hawksley as part of the waterworks in Blagdon (1898-1905).

MATERIALS: timber-framed with whitewashed nogging. It has a large stone tiled pitched roof with overhanging, swept eaves with exposed rafter ends, and a tall brick chimney stack to the rear roof slope.

PLAN: the single storey building has a rectangular plan with clubhouse to the front and vestibule, changing rooms and toilets also accessible via a separate side entrance and corridor along the rear elevation. Small fishing licence booth to the side, and paved outdoor fish weighing area at the rear south-east corner.

EXTERIOR: the three bay west elevation has three entrances with timber planked doors, each flanked to the left by a metal casement window. The lakeside front to the north is four bays wide with an entrance to the clubhouse situated centre-left below a hipped gabled roof projection. The entrance has a timber door with six paned glazing to the top half, framed to either side by full height fixed marginal lights. To its left is one three light metal casement window, with a further two to its right. The east side elevation has a large five light metal casement window. The rear elevation is four bays wide, with to the left, two 16-paned two-light Crittal windows, the projecting bay with the toilet block to the centre-right and on the corner the open fish weighing area set under the roof canopy.

INTERIOR: vertical timber panelling to the internal walls throughout, with large cast iron clothes hooks in the vestibule. The clubhouse has large metal racks attached to the ceiling for storing rods and other fishing equipment, and has a full height red brick chimney breast with bracketed timber mantel shelf.

CONTEXT: the fishing lodge stands at the end of Holt Lane (off Park Lane) in landscaped grounds planted with mature specimen trees (c1900) on the south shore of Blagdon Lake (formerly the Yeo Reservoir), with fine views over the lake and its surrounding landscape, and to the meter house and the dam.

In recommending the extent of designation of the various structures and buildings under designation, we have considered whether powers of exclusion under s.1 (5A) of the 1990 Act are appropriate, and consider that they are, and the two C20 buildings to the south of the Lodge are not included in the list entry.