St Katherine's Lodge

St Katherine's Lodge

An estate cottage, built around 1875 for the Ailesbury Estate, with mid- to late-20th-century extensions and alterations.

The building is constructed of tuck-pointed brickwork with Bath stone quoins and dressings. The half-hipped roof is clad with slates in alternating rows of plain and half-octagonal slates; those to the rear are late-20th-century replacements. There are two brick chimney stacks, one at the junction of the projecting front bay and the principal range, and another to the rear. Perforated shaped bargeboards with turned pendants decorate the front and south-east elevations. Most of the timber windows are multi-paned, some with decorative leaded panes and surrounds of dressed stone, though several modern replacements are present.

The plan appears to have been T-shaped originally, with a small separate square block to the rear which by 1924 was integrated with the dwelling. A smaller addition stood at the north-west end by 1924 but was subsequently demolished and replaced in 1978 with a larger extension containing the kitchen and utility. Further additions were built against the western half of the rear elevation and at the south-eastern corner in the mid- to late-20th century, both evident on plans from 1978.

The building has a continuous brick plinth with moulded stone capping and a first-floor moulded string to all but the north-west and west half of the rear elevation. The front south-west elevation has four irregular bays with the third bay projecting forward. A mid- to late-20th-century single-storey conservatory with brick plinth and arch-headed glazing is positioned to the left and now serves as the principal entrance. Above on the first floor are two single-light windows with stone surrounds that appear to be replacements, lacking the reveals of the original openings. The projecting third bay has a ground-floor stone-mullioned square bay window with three casements to the front and fixed side lights, and a three-light window above. The south-east elevation of the wing has a single-light ground-floor window. The right-hand bay contains a former entrance with stone surround and shouldered head, now fitted with a modern half-glazed door that is blocked internally. The right return has an offset ground-floor window and a two-light mullioned first-floor window with a plat band forming a shallow drip mould.

The rear garden elevation is irregular. The first and second bays have one- and three-light windows to both floors, with the larger windows and surrounds being 20th-century work. An extension to the right-hand half has a doorway in its south-east wall and single and three-light windows to the north-east elevation, with a circa-1978 dormer to its catslide roof and a tall brick stack. A late-20th-century addition of brick and blockwork to the right features a plank door in its south-east wall and a four-light window in the opposing elevation. The ground floor of the north-east elevation has a circa-1978 three-light window and a single window to the right, with one- and two-light windows above. This elevation differs markedly from others, lacking detailing and built of blockwork with brick skin, appearing to have been rebuilt sometime during the 20th century.

The interior has been substantially reconfigured with loss of part of the rear wall, some room divisions removed, and new partition walls introduced to both floors. The historic plan is almost entirely lost. Most joinery dates from the second half of the 20th century. The staircase has been repositioned and its modern replacement is located in the conservatory addition. The ground-floor room in the front wing has a fireplace with a camber-headed brick lintel and a blocked doorway to the left of the hearth. The first floor retains a short length of dado rail above the stair void, and a cast-iron fireplace is understood to survive in the south-west bedroom, though it is hidden behind a fitted wardrobe. The mid-19th-century roof timbers survive in the main section, comprising common rafters and a single row of purlins; the north-western section has modern timbers.

The detached mid- to late-20th-century house and garage to the south-west, and the late-20th and early-21st-century internal finishes and modern partition walls are not considered of special architectural or historic interest.