Hilgay Lodge And Attached Area Railings

Hilgay Lodge is a villa dating from approximately 1834 to 1840, with later additions and alterations including a 20th-century range to the rear. The main structure is stucco over brick, featuring a hipped slate roof, two tall stucco ridge stacks, and a rear stack. It has iron area railings and brackets. The design follows a double-depth plan with a central hallway and a full-height service range to the rear, with a further addition to its rear.

The stucco detailing includes a ground-floor band, quoins to the ground-floor angles, and a first-floor band surmounted by pilasters to the ends and the sides of the central window. A frieze and cornice feature on the ground floor. The windows are predominantly 6/6 sashes, with taller windows on the ground floor, all set in plain reveals with sills and tooled architraves. Ground-floor windows have cornices, while first-floor windows have plain aprons and a frieze. The basement retains 6/6 sashes. A flight of eight roll-edged steps leads to the central entrance, which has panelled pilasters with a frieze and dentil cornice, and contains double part-glazed doors with margin-lights and an overlight. Rear and return elevations retain both 6/6 and 8/8 sashes. The interior has not been inspected.

The area railings feature a circle motif. Decorative brackets support a tent-roofed hood above the entrance and a ground-floor window on the right return. The house is situated within oval-shaped grounds, which were laid out and shown on Merrett’s Map of 1834. It was part of The Park development, initially laid out for Thomas Billings in 1833. The estate was acquired around 1839 by the architect SW Daukes, by which time most of the houses within the estate had been constructed.