Lodge Park And Adjoining Walls And Railings

Lodge Park and Adjoining Walls and Railings

A former grandstand converted into a house, Lodge Park dates to the mid-17th century and was built for John Dutton. It was probably designed by John Webb, the architect of Lamport Hall in Northamptonshire, but executed by Valentine Strong of Taynton. The building was converted into a house and significantly extended in 1898 by King for Emily Theresa, Lady Sherborne, with further interior alterations undertaken in the 1930s.

The main structure is constructed of ashlar with rusticated quoins and a moulded plinth. The rectangular main body has a flat leaded roof, while a stone slate roof covers the game larder. A single-bay extension was added to the rear in 1898. A short corridor, open on one side, connects the main house to a small game larder with a square plan set within the courtyard wall at the rear.

The façade features a three-bay portico with a first-floor verandah spanning the central bays. The portico has four banded columns with round-headed arches and rusticated stonework, topped by a parapet matching that above the first-floor windows. The entrance consists of a double part-glazed door with two fielded panels at the bottom, set within a moulded round-headed surround with bag stops and imposts. The surround features a carved keystone and spandrels with stylised foliate decoration. Engaged splat baluster-type decoration runs from the impost level to the band above the door on either side of the doorway.

The fenestration of the main body comprises cross windows with moulded architraves and square-sectioned architraves. Shallow segmental pediments surmount the ground-floor windows either side of the entrance portico, with a moulded cornice continued at the same level. Broken triangular pediments top the first-floor windows. Stone busts of four men and one woman are set within these pediments. Two shell-headed alcoves flank the central window on the first floor. A balustrade with plain intermediary piers runs across the façade. Single windows appear on the returns of the main body.

The late-19th-century rear extension is two storeys high, with stone-mullioned cross-windows to the ground floor and a two-light stone-mullioned casement to the first floor. Two-light stone-mullioned casements with glazing bars face the rear. A mid-17th-century composite stack is set back at the rear of the main body, while later stacks feature moulded cappings. The game store is topped by a pyramidal roof.

Originally, the interior comprised two rooms, one above the other. The lower room functioned as the hall, while the upper room opened onto the balcony. The rooms were formerly connected by a projecting staircase at the north-west corner. This staircase continued upwards through a flat-roofed rectangular access turret onto the roof, now demolished. During the 1898 alterations, the interior was divided into two rooms and the upper floor into three. The present staircase was inserted in the 1930s.

The back wall of the hall originally featured two fireplaces surmounted by shell alcoves. The surround of the mid-17th-century fireplace remains, though the overmantel was replaced by a tympanum bearing the initials "E.T.S" (Emily Theresa, Lady Sherborne). To the right of this fireplace is a double-width doorway within a stone surround with double bolection moulding, moulded stops, and a keystone. The reveal above the impost level is carved to give a panelled appearance. A single six-panel door is also present. The left-hand room contains a small, probably late-19th-century stone fireplace with bolection moulding. A similar fireplace appears in an upstairs bedroom. The north wall of the upper left-hand room features a mid-17th-century moulded four-centred arched fireplace with moulded stops and spandrels with raised panels at the centre. A false ceiling has been installed.

The adjoining walls and railings are subsidiary features of significance. The mid-17th-century ashlar walls and probably 19th-century railings run for approximately 6 metres either side of the house. The boundary wall continues for approximately 20 metres with intermediary rusticated piers. The wall then returns forwards for approximately 20 metres, terminating in square, banded piers with moulded cappings and ball finials. Similar piers flank openings at the corners. Two plank doors within surrounds with moulded architraves are set in the returns.

The property is in the ownership of the National Trust.