Sundial Lodge

Sundial Lodge

This building was originally conceived as a pair of semi-detached "L"-shaped plan villas and has since been substantially reconfigured. The two former coach houses were later joined to the main structure at the rear, creating a central courtyard. The building is aligned south-east to north-west.

The exterior is rendered in cement with painted and stucco dressings. The roof is slate with rendered chimney stacks.

The front elevation, facing south, presents a symmetrical façade of two storeys with three-storey towers at either end. The three central bays contain a modern glass extension at ground-floor level. On either side, the windows have been replaced with twentieth-century small-pane bay windows topped by balustrades. The first floor displays a central sundial flanked by eight-over-eight sash windows. The square corner towers feature hipped roofs and are decorated with pilasters (rusticated at ground and first-floor levels) and a second-floor plat band. The right tower has a tripartite sash window with a console-supported cornice at ground level, while the left tower's ground-floor window has been replaced with a twentieth-century small-pane bay. Both towers have two-light four-over-four sashes with cornices and shutters at first-floor level. The second-floor windows are round-headed lights with small-pane casements and moulded spandrels. External shutters are present on all upper-floor front windows. Lean-to structures flank the towers: the right features four round-headed lights topped by a pediment, the left a twentieth-century small-pane window.

The east elevation comprises six asymmetrically fenestrated bays. Many nineteenth-century sash windows survive on the upper floors, though twentieth-century casements have been inserted at ground level. Numerous windows retain original openings with flat cornices or scroll-console-supported cornices. This elevation contains the main porch with a round-headed doorway and parapet, preserving an original large two-panel door with brass lion-head door knocker and associated door furniture.

The rear consists of the former coach houses, now integrated into the main dwelling. The west elevation, of five bays, has undergone extensive mid-twentieth-century alterations including the rebuilding of two central bays as a curved two-storey bay with multi-pane glazing and an adjacent polygonal two-storey bay. Two sash windows remain, though most fenestration comprises twentieth-century replacements. The corner tower on this side has also been substantially altered. Infill extensions within the courtyard are of various twentieth-century phases. The roof comprises hipped slate sections of various periods and later flat roof additions.

Interior

The main entrance opens into a porch on the east side, containing a twentieth-century inner door. The hallway retains many original fixtures, including an arch supported by scroll consoles, an original stairway and handrail, though the metal balustrade comprises twentieth-century replacements. An elaborately carved timber door, recently introduced, stands against one wall. A central axial corridor connects the building's east and west ends.

The central ground-floor front room now functions as a communal lounge, originally divided by a party wall that has been removed to create a single space. The opening is supported by decorative pillars. The room contains original decorative coving and plasterwork, though a fireproof layer has been inserted beneath the original ceiling. The fireplaces and associated plasterwork are late-twentieth-century additions, as is the dado rail.

The left side of the building underwent internal alterations in the 1930s when it remained a separate dwelling. A timber panel staircase and other features date from this period. Original plaster cornicing survives mainly in the front rooms. Most internal fireplaces are modern additions; however, an original stone Gothic-arched fireplace remains in a ground-floor bedroom of the left tower. A bedroom in the central front range unusually retains original internal shutters. Some six-panel doors are believed original, though many six- and four-panel doors were added during late-twentieth-century alterations. The corridors contain modern fireproof glazed partition screens and modern services, including a lift. Most bedrooms have inserted partition walls creating separate bathrooms and kitchens.