And Stables Including Gatepiers And Garden Steps, Watling Lodge, Tamfourhill Road

Watling Lodge is a substantial 18th-century villa dating from 1893, designed as a 3-bay Arts and Crafts residence in a T-plan form. It stands directly upon the Antonine Wall, which is a scheduled ancient monument. The building was converted to a care home in the late 20th century. An L-plan stable block is located to the east.

The principal elevation faces north and features coursed, tooled red sandstone ashlar. The sides and rear are constructed of squared, coursed and snecked, stugged red sandstone rubble, while the stable block is built in coursed red brick. The building displays a splayed ashlar base course, large ashlar quoins, overhanging bracketed eaves with a carved timber eaves course, and bargeboarded gables. Openings are formed with segmental-arched red sandstone ashlar; stone cills and polished ashlar margins appear to the sides and rear. The 2-storey structure breaks at the eaves line, and features half-timbered, jettied dormers to the north with transomed and mullioned timber openings and terracotta ridge tiles.

The north-facing principal elevation displays a central segmental-arched entrance with a 2-leaf timber panel door and plain fanlight. To the right is a canted 3-light window, and to the left a stone mullioned, tripartite window. Large jettied, gableheaded dormers occupy the outer bays. The right dormer is supported by a 3-light oriel window at centre, mounted on three timber brackets; the left dormer rests on rounded timber corbels and features a 4-light window with an advanced pediment on carved timber brackets. A small 2-light gabled dormer at centre carries a pagoda-shaped finial to the gablehead with terracotta ridge tiles.

The east elevation comprises 4 bays arranged in two pairs. An advanced 2-bay gabled end to the right displays a large ground-floor window. A smaller, possibly later window sits off-centre to the left. A ground-floor window occupies the far left, with a doorway to the ground floor right and a small square window to its left. The 2 left-hand bays feature raised eaves; 2 breaking-eaves, gabled wallhead dormers with single windows punctuate this section, with plain bargeboards to the gabled eaves.

The south or rear elevation contains 3 bays with a plain advanced gabled bay at centre.

The west elevation displays 2 bays. An advanced gable of the main house appears to the left. A ground-floor doorway to the left leads to a shallow segmental-arched opening with a patterned, leaded glass fanlight and a 20th century access ramp. A 2-storey bay to the right contains a bipartite ground-floor window and a gabled, wallhead dormer to the first floor with a bi-partite window.

Windows throughout consist of plate glass and 4-pane timber sash and case designs, with patterned, stained, frosted and leaded glass to the upper sashes. The stables feature 10-pane, lying-pane sash and case windows. The pitched roof is clad in green slate with piended dormers to both villa and stables. Ashlar, coped gablehead stacks with conical clay cans rise to the east, west and south of the villa. Red brick, capped gablehead stacks with additional tall stack to the north side of the west outshot serve the stables; some retain original conical clay cans, with additional late 20th century cones added later.

Interior

The building was converted to Barnardos Care Home offices and accommodation in the late 20th century. Entry is through a main double storm-door into a vestibule, then through a secondary door into the hallway. This secondary door is a 2-leaf timber panel and glazed door with decorative stained glass to the doorhead and fanlight, accompanied by 3-panel sidelights with similar panelling and stained glass.

The main hallway and stairwell feature doorways to left and right leading to principal rooms, though the right doorway has been blocked and that room is now accessed from the remodelled rear. These doorways are framed with carved timber, classical pedimented architraves. Timber panelling lines the lower walls as a dado with a simple classical cornice; the stairwell and first floor are similarly panelled with a dentilled cornice above.

The dog-leg principal staircase incorporates an elaborately carved timber balustrade with a projecting, rounded tread to the bottom step. The underside of the staircase return flight displays lattice-patterned timber boarding. A tall newel with an urn-shaped finial marks the bottom step, with further newels at the half-landing and first-floor landing. Balusters echo the newel's style, and a carved timber, ball-shaped pendant hangs from the underside of the first-floor landing, flanked by half-pendant brackets on the walls. A tall archway at the back wall of the half-landing features panelled plasterwork to the intrados with applied plaster brackets to flanking walls. The first-floor landing has been subdivided left to right by a modern timber and glass partition. A large, 4-sided pyramidal stained glass rooflight sits at the centre of the stairwell, and cornice detailing from the hallway is repeated throughout.

Stables

The stable block's west or principal elevation comprises 3 bays arranged as 1 bay then 2 bays set back. An advanced, gabled west outshot forms the L-plan to the left. A central doorway is flanked to the right by a large carriage doorway with a steel beam lintel. Single windows occupy the first-floor bays.

The south elevation displays a 3-bay west outshot to the left with an advanced, blind gable of the south jamb to the right. A double doorway to the centre west jamb is flanked to the right by a large, double-door carriage opening, with a single rectangular window to the left. A breaking-eaves, gabled dormer at first-floor centre contains a single window, now blind and infilled with brick.

The east elevation is single-storey, with the Antonine Wall banked up to first-floor level to the right. Three bays contain windows to the left and off-centre right, with a bipartite window to the far right.

The stables were converted to care home accommodation in the late 20th century; access was not obtained at the time of survey in 2004.

Gatepiers and Garden Steps

Tall, large square-plan red sandstone ashlar gatepiers flank the approach. Each features a low splayed base, moulded cornice, and large caps with piended corners.

A flight of stone steps rises from the driveway to the northeast corner of the house. These are edged with a plain, low parapet terminating at the top with two ashlar square-plan piers. The parapet features an ogee-moulded cornice with pagoda-shaped flat-topped caps, and stylised thistle ball finials with leaf-shaped carvings to the sides.