Athelstane Lodge, Preston Road, Prestonpans

Athelstane Lodge, Preston Road, Prestonpans

Probably late 17th century with earlier 19th century and later alterations and additions. A 2-storey and attic, 3-bay laird's house with crowstepped gables. The main structure is built of random sandstone rubble with ashlar dressings, featuring later architraves to the front windows and strip pilasters. The side elevations are rendered, and there is a rendered base course. The crowstepped gables have beaked skewputts.

The north elevation has widely spaced bays. A 19th century door surround with cornice sits at the centre, featuring a panelled door and letterbox fanlight, with a wrought-iron lamp bracket and lantern above. To the right is a window; to the left, a bipartite window with a relieving arch above what was originally a single window. Regular fenestration runs across the first floor. Two canted dormers with modern glazing and finials light the attic. A door to the outer left leads to a covered passage connecting to an outbuilding.

The south elevation contains a projecting stair tower at its centre with a stair window. This tower was raised in the 19th century to break the eaves and is topped with a decoratively finialled roof. A window flanks the tower to the right. A modern conservatory addition to the left, boarded with multi-pane glazing, masks an earlier door with a stop-chamfered surround. Regular fenestration lights the first floor windows of the outer bays. A later single-flue stack stands at the left corner.

The east elevation is adjoined by a single-storey service area extending to ancillary structures to the south. The boundary wall shows evidence of a former neighbouring property to the east, now demolished. The elevation above the service area is blank.

The west elevation has a modern addition at ground level, circa 1960, with blank walling above.

Glazing consists of plate glass in timber sash and case windows. The rear roof is graded with grey slates; the front with later purple slates. Rendered gablehead stacks carry polygonal cans. Cast-iron rooflights appear on the front (1) and rear (2), with cast-iron rainwater goods throughout.

Interior

The first floor contains outstanding late 17th century panelling, chimneypieces and cornices. This includes fluted pilasters, lugged and shouldered chimneypieces with pulvinated moulding and nailhead details, roll-moulded openings, overmantel panels and cornice-keystones to deep cornices, wall panelling, and lugged door surrounds. Panelled shutters remain. The decoration is allegedly taken from Preston House circa 1900, though it may be original to Athelstane Lodge.

At ground level, sections of original plaster cornice survive, interrupted where a dividing wall has been removed. Architraved door surrounds and simple panelled doors are present; one door to the hall features flush-panelling and accommodates settlement with non-level lintels. A U-plan stone newel stair with a quasi-columnar end to the hall dividing wall rises through the centre of the house. The south-east room contains a roll-moulded chimneypiece with a circa 1820 classical timber surround.

Ancilliary Structures

Running south at the east of the house are ancillary structures adjoining the boundary wall. A single-storey range with a half-piended roof and cast-iron rooflights is built of squared sandstone rubble. Its west elevation features a door to the outer left (with a stop-chamfered surround) and a 3-bay cottage to the right. The cottage is comprised of a door at centre flanked by channelled pilasters with moulded cornices and two small windows with leaded, diamond-pane glazing. Evidence of a former stack survives to the ridge line. To the south are irregular flat-roofed and lean-to roofed sheds with later stone walls.

Boundary Walls

A 17th-18th century rubble garden wall runs to the front and rear on the east side, rising by the house to indicate the form and position of a former neighbour, demolished post-1945. This demolished building is evidenced by a chimneypiece and ball finial marking the former ridge line; the wall is buttressed on its east side. Brick walls bound the property to the south and west. A later rubble wall with flat coping stands to the north front.