Description

Robert Mitchell, circa 1795. Pair of single storey, square-plan classical lodges with balustraded screen walls and paired columns supporting recumbent Coade stone lions. Dressed ashlar. Base and eaves course.

S (PRINCIPAL) ELEVATION: W lodge: recessed blind archway to centre containing architraved pedimented window; string course; eaves course and low parapet. Balustraded screen wall adjoining square pier with circular motif and cushion cap to left of lodge; wrought-iron pedestrian gate of spider's web pattern with spikes above set within pair of Tuscan columns, pediment with recumbent lion surmounting, set to right of lodge. To centre, rusticated square pier, neck course, cushion capital supporting wrought iron lamp bracket flanking double wrought-iron gate of web pattern with spikes above. E lodge: mirror image of W lodge although lion missing front right paw and ball.

E & W (FACING DRIVE) ELEVATIONS: W lodge: main building, single window to centre with projecting base sill; eaves course with low parapet surmounting; lower recessed squared entrance porch adjoining to right containing central door with tooled margins, eaves course and low parapet surmounting, gable end with plain skewputts to right return, lower recessed cube adjoining to far right. E lodge: main building, doorway to centre with projecting base sill; eaves course with low parapet surmounting; lower recessed cube adjoining to right containing central door with tooled margins, eaves course and low parapet surmounting, gable end with plain skewputts to right return.

N (REAR) ELEVATION: not seen, 2001.

Originally 12-pane timber sash and case, presently concealed behind timber sheeting. Piended grey slate roof with zinc ridging. Concealed rainwater goods. Stack to left of main building, replacement stack on W lodge, damaged cans; cans missing on E lodge.

INTERIOR: not seen, 2001.

Statement of Interest

Part of an A-Group with Preston Hall, Stables, Gazebos and Walled Garden and Temple. Situated at the formal entrance to Prestonhall, the lodges straddle the drive that winds along a wooded slope, at the foot of which flows the Tyne Water. The origin of the lodges' name can be taken from the two lions which surmount the pillars, or from the circumstance that Sir Walter Scott, at this spot, introduces Sir David Lindsay of the Mount, Lord Lion King of Arms, for Scotland, as the guide of "Marmion" and his train to Crichton Castle. It was on this site that the Duchess of Gordon, then owner of the Hall, had breakfast prepared for Prince Charles Stuart in 1745. For this act, she lost the £1000 pension she received from the Exchequer, which she had been granted for raising her family as Protestants. The ornamental lions are made from Coade stone - one of the earliest mass-produced artificial stones, named after its manufacturer Mrs Eleanor Coade.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q17569934

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

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  Surrey (The Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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  Kent: North East and East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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  London 3: North West: North West v. 3 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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  Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair by Hunt. Roger ( 2008 ) Hardcover
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  Gloucestershire 2: The Vale and The Forest of Dean: Vale and Forest of Dean Pt. 2 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)