South Lodge

South Lodge is a gate lodge built around 1895 as part of the Hestercombe Estate for Hon. E.W.B. Portman. It is constructed of sandstone with ashlar dressings, mullioned casement windows with leaded panes, tiled roofs, ashlar stacks, and cast iron rainwater goods.

The lodge is built on an irregular plan and extends over two storeys, incorporating a central stair. It is designed in the Domestic Revival style, notable for its stone gables with coped verges and kneelers, quoins, mullioned openings with eared architraves, drip moulds, and diamond-patterned glazing. The main (south) elevation has four bays, with the bays to the right projecting, all within a wide gable. A sandstone panel displaying the Portman coat of arms is set in this gable, above diagonally-set ashlar chimney stacks. A square, flat-roofed projecting porch of sandstone is positioned to the left, with the front door recessed behind it. A dormer with timber mullions, carved architraves, and bargeboards sits in the roof above the porch. The west front features two bays under a wide gable with stacks to the apex. A four-centred arched timber plank and braced garden gate is situated to the left, leading to a rear kitchen yard paved with diamond-setts. A single-storey privy and wash house, with lean-to roofs and iron rainwater goods, is set back against the north flank of the west front. The kitchen door is to the left, and a cast-iron extractor fan outlet is under the eaves to the right. A further timber plank gate with a four-centred arch, incorporating some historic fitments and modern repairs, leads to the principal north front, which is a wide gabled bay with apex chimneys and ashlar corbelling. The east front consists of three gabled bays, the central one set forward, with stone ball finials topping the gable apexes. The rainwater hopper heads have decorative detailing.

The interior features a front door leading to a hallway corridor that runs to the rear kitchen. An inserted curved section of brick wall is present within the kitchen. The original fireplace has been sealed, and a partition and door lead to a small room to the south. The hallway corridor turns east by the kitchen door, with a staircase to the left and a principal room to the right. A door provides access to the larder to the left of the stair. A tiled corridor continues around the stair, featuring a small projecting bay to the east front and a part-glazed door to a principal room at the north end of the lodge. Both principal rooms have fireplaces, showing some modification. The staircase has a turned balustrade, and fireplaces, timber cupboards, and wardrobes are found in the first-floor rooms. Timber detailing is present on the ceilings. Braced plank doors are consistent throughout the building, showcasing chamfers and stops to the timbers. The windows retain late 19th-century iron fitments. The floors are finished with pine floorboards and encaustic tiles.