South Lodge, Charterhall

South Lodge, dated 1865 and designed by John Lessels, is an asymmetrical, single-story, two-bay gabled gate lodge with later additions and alterations. It is adjoined by a porch addition where a former pedestrian gateway once stood, and features a single-story gabled addition to the outer right. The lodge is constructed of lightly stugged, coursed cream sandstone with sandstone ashlar dressings. It has a raised base course and corniced eaves. Openings have chamfered surrounds, sandstone mullions to the bipartites, and chamfered cills. The addition to the outer right is rendered.

The entrance, or Southeast, elevation shows the original block with a bipartite window in a projecting, gabled bay offset to the left of centre. Above this window is an armorial panel carved with an unidentified crest. The window is topped by a stepped and architraved hoodmould with foliate label stops and a foliate iron finial surmounting the gablehead. A single window is at ground level in the lower wing recessed to the right. The lower, single-story addition to the outer right has a blind elevation. A porch, which was formerly a pedestrian gateway, is located to the outer left and features a part-glazed timber door set in a shoulder-arched surround.

The Southwest elevation, formerly the entrance side, includes a projecting gabled wing to the right; the porch obscures a bay to the extreme right. A single window is at ground level in the bay to the left. Stepped and architraved hoodmoulds enclose armorial panels carved with the dates “1865” and an unidentified initial, “CH(?)” respectively. These also have foliate label stops, and a foliate iron finial tops the gablehead. A bipartite window is in a projecting corner bay to the outer left, with a decorative iron finial atop an engaged, pyramidal roof.

The Northeast side features a modern addition projecting to the outer left, with a part-glazed timber door and a modern window. A single window is centred in a gabled bay recessed to the outer right.

The lodge primarily has plate glass timber sash and case windows, some with four panes. The roofs are grey slate with fishscale banding, raised stone skews, moulded skewputts and decorative iron brattishing with floral and fleur-de-lys detailing, as well as prominent leaded crockets. A coped sandstone ridge stack has circular cans. Some original rainwater goods remain.

Low, coursed sandstone quadrant walls with architraved coping flank the entrance and enclose the lodge garden to the right. Square-plan, pyramidal-capped piers are located to the outer left and right. The vehicular entrance is flanked by square-plan gatepiers that have stepped bases, corbelled cornices, ball finials, and stepped caps. They support two-leaf decorative iron gates. A shoulder-arched opening to the left frames a decorative iron pedestrian gate; a square-plan, pyramidal-capped pier stands to the left. A shoulder arched opening to the right frames the porch entrance.