Cotherstone Lodge

Cotherstone Lodge is an entrance lodge, built between 1879 and 1880. It was constructed using a prefabricated concrete panel system patented by W H Lascelles, based on a design by the prominent architect Richard Norman Shaw. The lodge is built with concrete panels set on a timber frame, and has a tile roof supported by timber rafters, with concrete finials. A brick stack is also present. The lower ground floor sections are now finished with a pebbledash rendering, and the timber windows have been replaced. A porch has been filled in with a late 20th-century door.

The interior of the lodge comprises a former kitchen area, now lightly partitioned, and a living room on either side of a central staircase leading to three former bedrooms in the eaves.

The construction of Cotherstone Lodge is historically significant as it exemplifies an early use of mass concrete in Britain during the 1860s for building affordable structures. W H Lascelles's patented system eliminated the need for expensive shuttering, allowing for a range of decorative mouldings and a higher standard of architectural quality than typically seen in concrete buildings. A collaboration between Lascelles, Shaw, and Shaw’s assistant Ernest Newton resulted in a book of designs in 1878, including the design that became Cotherstone Lodge, which was exhibited at the Paris Exhibition. Records confirm that Earl Spencer commissioned “design No. 9,” which was dispatched in August 1879 and construction was completed by May 1880 at a cost of £195. The lodge is the only known example directly related to Shaw’s published designs.

The lodge's architectural interest lies in its use of entirely prefabricated components and its notable architectural quality for its date. The name "Cotherstone" refers to Earl Spencer’s racehorse, who is buried nearby.