Nos 2 And 3 And Attached Railings, Gate Piers And Gates

Two lodges, built in the early 19th century, likely around 1837 when Sir James Pennethorne was undertaking significant alterations to Dillington House. They are constructed from Ham Hill stone ashlar, with flat lead roofs and stone stacks to the rear walls. Each lodge has a hexagonal plan with a single room per floor. Designed in a Gothic style, they are two storeys high with a symmetrical three-window facade. All windows feature pointed arches, dripmoulds with circular stops, and two lights with hollow-moulded Y-tracery to the mullions. The windows have diamond leading with margin panes in the lower sections and interlaced leading in the upper parts. Similar dripmoulds are above the planked and studded front doors, one facing each direction across the drive. A blind window above each door, with false painted leading, is flanked by windows on each side of the hexagonal bay. String courses run at sill levels and below a moulded castellated parapet. The interiors have been extensively altered.

The rear of each lodge is built into the hillside, with limestone rubble walls attached to the rear, up to first-floor level, canting inwards to act as retaining walls. A low Ham Hill stone ashlar wall is attached to the front (north) of each lodge, with coping that continues as the lower sill course. Plain railings run along this wall and are connected to octagonal piers with octagonal swept domed caps, incorporating the closing catches for the side (pedestrian) gates.

In the centre of the drive are a pair of tall octagonal gate piers with rusticated shafts, dentilled cornices, and stepped caps topped with large acorns in octagonal cups. The gates are cast-iron Gothic style. Smaller, outer gates sweep upwards from the height of the smaller outer piers to their hinges on the taller inner ones. The upper rails of the main, double gates curve downwards towards the centre; the middle and lower rails are ornamented with bands of quatrefoils set in squares. Railings of square section, with pointed tops, extend from the front (south) of each lodge and curve away from the drive to the east and west, enclosing triangular forecourts of approximately 45 metres to the west and 30 metres to the east. Each forecourt has a small working access gate.