Cemetery lodge, gate piers, gates and flanking walls, North Road, Darlington

Summary

Cemetery lodge, gate piers, gates and flanking walls of 1874 by G G Hoskins.

Description

Cemetery lodge, entrance walls and gates, 1874 to designs of G G Hoskins in Gothic style.

MATERIALS: the lodge has tooled and snecked Horton bank sandstone with Dunhouse stone dressings, and Welsh slate roofs. The entrance piers and walls are of ashlar sandstone and sandstone blocks.

PLAN: an L-shaped lodge comprising a two-storey north-south range with an attached narrower single-storey east-west range, and a canted porch in the angle between the two; there is a C20 rectangular extension to the north-west. The curvilinear cemetery entrance has a central carriage opening flanked to each side by a pedestrian opening with flanking wing walls and an additional section of walling to the north side.

EXTERIOR: viewed only from public spaces where the south elevation and only parts of the right and left returns and the rear elevation were visible. The Lodge is situated immediately within, and on the north side of, the main North Road entrance to the cemetery. It is of sandstone construction beneath pitched roofs of Welsh fish-scale slate and there is a moulded eaves cornice. The gables have triangular and round-lobed trefoil finials, moulded kneelers and stone verges with similarly-styled stone finials.

The south elevation has a two-storey gabled left end bay with a two-light pointed-arched ground floor window set within a polychrome surround and a blind moulded trefoil-headed opening to the first floor, which contains a large stone-carved monogram of 1874. An upper string course also frames the window in the form of a hoodmould. The left corner is chamfered and incorporates a rectangular canted window; it is understood that the right corner is similarly detailed. The right end bay has a two-light pointed-arched window within a polychrome surround. The canted, gabled porch set in the angle between the two ranges is similarly detailed to the other gables and has a pointed-arched entrance with stopped hoodmould and string-course to the apex, above which is an octagonal opening with cusped tracery. The left and right returns have tall external chimney stacks and there is a ridge stack to the north-south range: all chimney stacks are rectangular and stepped with vertical and horizontal banding and moulded caps. The gabled bay of the rear elevation has stone verges and a stone finial, and a circular quatrefoil opening to the apex.

INTERIOR: not inspected.

The North Road entrance comprises a wide central carriage entrance, flanked by square ashlar gate piers with chamfered bases and shafts and large moulded pyramidal caps with octagonal, domed finials. They are fitted with double ornate, scrolled and foliate wrought-iron gates identical in detail to adjacent original wrought-iron railings. The carriage entrance is flanked to each side by a pedestrian entrance with identical gate piers and wrought-iron gates. There are attached curvilinear sections of walling about four courses high with convex coping stones, which carry lengths of original wrought-iron railings and terminate in identical piers. An additional section of walling with chamfered, blocked openings extends to the north before terminating at an identical pier.

This list entry was subject to a Minor Amendment on 05/02/2020

History

Joseph Pease had taken a keen interest in the provision of a public cemetery for the northern part of Darlington, and had offered to gift land and supporting funds for the purpose. In 1873, a year after his death, his sons conveyed the 14 acres of land to the town along with a commitment to pay £3.000 towards the costs of fencing and providing the chapels and other structures. A Mr Barningham also presented a strip of land for the provision of an entrance to the cemetery from North Road. The cost of enclosing and draining the land and the provision of the buildings proved to be more expensive, and Messrs Pease met the full cost of £5.000. In April 1874, Joseph Pease's son and Mayor of Darlington, Arthur Pease laid the foundation stone of the chapels; temporary iron chapels were quickly erected at the site for use until completion of the permanent chapels. The cemetery was designed by George Gordon Hoskins, who also designed the cemetery chapels, the entrance walls and gates, the lodge, a cemetery keeper’s house and a commemorative obelisk produced by the Quaker Priestman family of monumental masons who had a workshop in Darlington. The contractor was Mr R Borrowdale. Historic maps show that between 1923 and 1939, the cemetery expanded to the west. The cemetery has an association with North Road railway heritage and includes the graves of many railway workers; there are no graves of figures of national importance.

George Gordon Hoskins was a prominent Darlington architect who designed a number of buildings in the town and the surrounding region and has several listed buildings to his name including the Grade II* listed town hall and municipal buildings, Middlesbrough (1883-1889; NHLE: 1136659) and the Grade II listed Gardeners' Cottage, Darlington (1873; NHLE: 1393710). Hoskins had been clerk to Alfred Waterhouse the renowned architect and Quaker who strongly influenced his building style. He was elected a fellow of the RIBA in 1870.

Joseph Pease (1799–1872) was a Quaker railway company promoter and industrialist who helped his father in the projection of the Stockton and Darlington Railway, in 1819 and 1820 by preparing the company's first prospectus. He emerged as an influential voice in the management of the railway in 1828, when he took the lead in projecting an extension of the line from Stockton to the hamlet of Middlesbrough. He was elected MP for South Durham, and was the first Quaker member to sit in the House of Commons. He devoted himself to philanthropic and educational work and was a frequent speaker on matters of social and political reform including an anti-slavery advocate.

Historic Ordnance Survey mapping shows that between 1915 and 1939 the lodge received a narrow west extension, and that between 1939 and 1955 this extension was either replaced or further extended to the north-west in the form of a rectangular range. We have been informed that the internal plan-form survives, but that there are no internal architectural features other than some incomplete wooden floors. An internal site inspection has not been granted, and therefore this information cannot be confirmed. We have been informed that the double gates are early-C21 replicas, and that the blocked pedestrian openings through the walling to their right formerly gave access to a public WC, but this is unsupported by any evidence. We have also been informed that the openings allowed access to the cemetery when the main entrance was locked but again no evidence has been provided to support this.

Reasons for Listing

This cemetery lodge, gate piers, gates and flanking walls of 1874 by G G Hoskins, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* a well-designed and well-crafted Gothic domestic building of much character;
* a handsome composition with good external detailing including a canted porch, chamfered corner windows and a prominently-placed stone-carved monogram;
* the interior plan-form is retained, which helps to preserve its historic character;
* the main entrance with ornate gate piers, original and replica gates, flanking walls and iron railings was designed to provide an attractive entry to the cemetery;
* designed by the regionally significant architect G G Hoskins, who trained under Waterhouse and executed a number of commissions for prominent Quaker families.

Historic Interest:

* part of the gift of Joseph Pease and his sons to the town of Darlington, it benefits from an historic association with a figure of national importance.

Group value:

* designed as part of a cemetery ensemble with a clear design coherence, the individual buildings and structures benefit from a spatial, historic and functional group value.

External Links

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