Rock Lodge

Rock Lodge is a detached villa built around 1840, with extensions added around 1870. The house is constructed with a rendered exterior and a slate roof. It is arranged on a symmetrical single-depth plan, with a later billiard room attached to the rear right, projecting beyond the original gable end. The design combines classical architectural elements with neo-Tudor detailing.

The main part of the house has two storeys and a 2:1:2-window arrangement, with the central bay gabled and slightly protruding. The windows are 2-light casements with small panes; the ground floor windows have 20 panes, and the first floor windows have 16 panes, except for the central first-floor window, which has a 4-centred arch with interlaced bars in the head. The ground floor central window features a pair of glazed doors beneath a glazed light, both set within a 4-centred arch with a stopped drip-course. A casement sits within a segmental arch on the left-hand (south) gable, accompanied by a cast iron balustrade to a small balcony above a lean-to with decorative barge-board. A full-width timber-framed glazed conservatory with an octagonal central section and small-pane transom lights is attached to the left. To the right gable is a 2-light casement with bars and interlace. The central gable has a decorative fretted barge-board, and there are ridge stacks located between the outer pairs of windows. A further, larger slate-hung stack is present in the valley of the extension roof.

The two-storey extension is constructed of rubble, with a gabled slate roof. A cross-gabled porch adjoins the north gable of the main range, featuring a wide door with pointed and cusped heads, a nail-head surround. A full-height hexagonal bay with transomed casements is located on the right gable of the extension, and a projecting square bay is at the rear. A 2-light casement sits at the upper level of the entrance end.

The interior of the ground floor was partially inspected; it features a central stair hall flanked by two rooms on each side, all accessed via a rear corridor, which also leads to the two-storey billiard room. The staircase has an open string, and divides at the quarter landing. A door to the left has an arched head, recessed and set on two steps. All rooms have window shutters within embrasures, and simple cornices. The kitchen, at the south end, has a deep opening for a range. The billiard room is tall, with a fine palmette cornice, and a square 'exedra' on one wall, which is slightly off-centre. The original fireplace remains in situ, and the door has a roll-mould to the panels with pointed heads within a moulded architrave.

Rock Lodge occupies a prominent position at the western end of Lydiate Lane, overlooking the town, and retains much of its original detail.