St Katherine's Lodge, Great Bedwyn, Wiltshire

Summary

Estate cottage, c.1875 for the Ailesbury Estate; mid- to late-C20 extensions and alterations.

Description

Estate cottage, circa 1875 for the Ailesbury Estate. Mid- to late-C20 extensions and alterations.

MATERIALS: constructed of tuck-pointed brickwork with Bath stone quoins and dressings. The half-hipped roof is clad with slates, with alternating rows of plain and half-octagonal slates; those to the rear are late C20 replacements. There are two brick stacks, one at the junction of the projecting front bay and the principal range, the other is to the rear. There are perforated shaped bargeboards with turned pendants to the front and south-east elevations. Most of the timber windows are multi-paned, some with decorative leaded panes, with surrounds of dressed stone, and there are several modern insertions.

PLAN: it appears to have been T-shaped on plan, though a small section to the rear is defined as a separate small, square block; this is shown as part of the dwelling by 1924. At this date there also appears to be a smaller addition to the north-west end of the building which has subsequently been demolished and was replaced in 1978 by a slightly larger extension containing the kitchen and utility. Further additions were built against the western half of the rear elevation and at the south-eastern corner in the mid- to late C20; both are shown on plans of the house from 1978.

EXTERIOR: the building has a continuous plinth of brick with moulded stone capping and a first-floor moulded string to all but the north-west and west half of the rear elevation. The front (south-west) elevation has four irregular bays, and the third bay projecting forwards. To the left-hand end is a mid- to late C20 single-storey conservatory which now serves as the principal entrance to the building. It has a brick plinth and arch-headed glazing to the upper part of its south-west and north-west sides. Above, to the first floor of the cottage are two single-light windows with stone surrounds which appear to have been replaced since they lack the reveals present to the original openings. Bay three breaks forwards to form a projecting wing. Its ground floor has a stone-mullioned square bay window with three casements to the front and fixed side lights. The first-floor window has three lights. The south-east elevation to the wing has a ground-floor, single-light window. The right-hand bay has a former entrance which has a stone surround with a shouldered head. The modern door is half glazed, but the lower part of the opening is blocked internally. The right return has a single, offset window to the ground floor and, to the first floor is a two-light mullioned window with a plat band which forms a shallow drip mould over the window. The rear, garden elevation is irregular. Bays one and two have a one- and three-light window to both floors; the two larger windows and their surrounds are of C20 date. The extension to the right-hand half has a doorway in its south-east wall and single and three-light windows to the north-east elevation. Its catslide roof has a dormer of circa 1978 and a tall brick stack. To the right, under a continuation of the mono-pitch roof is a late-C20 addition of brick and blockwork; it has a plank door in its south-east wall and a window of four-lights in the opposing elevation. The ground floor of the north-east elevation has a three-light window circa 1978 and a single window to the right; there windows of one and two lights above. This elevation has a different appearance to the other elevations, lacking the detailing found elsewhere. It is built of blockwork with a brick skin, and appears to have been rebuilt sometime during the C20.

INTERIOR: there has been some reconfiguration of the interior, including the loss of part of the rear wall and some room divisions, and the introduction of new partition walls to both floors, and the historic plan is almost entirely lost. Most of the joinery dates from the second half of the C20. The staircase has been re-positioned and its modern replacement is now (2014) located in the conservatory addition. The ground-floor room in the front wing has a fireplace with a camber-headed brick lintel and a blocked doorway to the left of the hearth. To the first floor, there is a short length of dado rail above the stair void, and a cast-iron fireplace is understood to survive in the south-west bedroom but it is hidden behind a fitted wardrobe. The mid-C19 roof timbers are extant and comprise common rafters and a single row of purlins; the north-western section has modern timbers.

Pursuant to s.1 (5A) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (‘the Act’) it is declared that the following are not of special architectural or historic interest:

The detached, mid- to late-C20 house and garage to the south-west.
The late-C20 and early-C21 internal finishes and modern partition walls

History

By the late C16 the Seymours had created a deer park at Tottenham, situated around a mansion called Totnam Lodge built c 1575. In 1671, John, Duke of Somerset inherited the Tottenham estate; after his death the estate passed to his granddaughter Lady Elizabeth Seymour, who married Thomas, Lord Bruce, Earl of Ailesbury. By that time Totnam Lodge had been destroyed, possibly by a fire. In 1703, Lord Bruce's son, Charles, inherited the estate and commissioned his brother-in-law, Lord Burlington to make improvements. Burlington designed a new house, set within formal pleasure grounds surrounded by a park with avenues and rides. After Charles Bruce's death in 1747, his son Thomas Brudenell-Bruce inherited the estate, and in 1814, after his death, his son Charles, the first Marquess of Ailesbury, inherited.

St Katharine’s Lodge was built in c.1875 for the Ailesbury Estate and may have provided accommodation for the sexton since it is situated opposite St Katherine's Church Grade II*) which was completed in 1861 to designs by T H Wyatt. The house has undergone various extensions and alterations to the rear (north-east) and north-west elevations, the addition of a conservatory-style extension to its western corner, and internal alterations.

Reasons for Listing

St Katharine’s Lodge, built c.1875 for the Ailesbury Estate, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Architectural interest: as a picturesque and imaginatively detailed example of late-C19 country estate architecture in Domestic Revival style;
* Group value: it has strong group value with other nationally designated features on the former Aislebury Estate, including the Grade II* listed Church of St Katharine and the Grade II* registered Tottenham House and Savernake Forest;

External Links

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