Summary
House, originating in the early-C18, substantially enlarged in the early-C19.
Reasons for Designation
Elm Lodge is listed at Grade II, for the following principal reasons:
Architectural interest:
* as a building with principal phases of development between 1700 and 1850 that retains a significant proportion of its historic fabric, for which there is a presumption in favour of listing;
* including a sophisticated Regency villa-style extension, with well-composed elevations incorporating good-quality materials and detailing;
* the early-C19 range retains a good proportion of contemporary features and fixtures internally, signalling the status of the building and reflecting architectural fashions of the period;
* a striking illustration of the development from early-C18 vernacular construction to the fashionable Regency classicism of a century later.
History
Elm Lodge originated in the early C18 as a timber-framed dwelling. Initially known as the Cedars, it was substantially enlarged in the early C19. The Tithe map shows the building with its current approximate footprint. A former coach house stands to the south; it is also on the Tithe map, and is presumed to be contemporary with the early-C19 enlargement of the house.
The house was used as an auxiliary hospital during the First World War. In the late-C20 or early C21 paint was removed from the elevations by sandblasting, and the brickwork was repointed with cementitious mortar.
Details
House, originating in the early-C18, substantially enlarged in the early-C19.
MATERIALS: red brick laid in Flemish bond, with limestone dressings, slate roofs and brick chimneystacks. The C18 rear wing retains some timber framing with brick infill.
PLAN: the house has an irregular, L-shaped footprint, in which the C18 range runs to the north-east, and the larger, double-pile C19 range stands perpendicularly to the south-west.
EXTERIOR: the house consists of two distinct sections: the large early-C19 range to the south-west; and the earlier adjoining linear range to the north-east.
On the early-C19 range the principal elevation is a symmetrical, classical composition which faces south-west onto the garden. It has a three-bay, three-storey central section with a shallow hipped roof with wide stacks. Windows are hornless sashes with multiple lights, diminishing in height with each storey. Window openings have dressed stone lintels. Central on the ground floor is a French window with margin glazing. There are two-storey wings on either side; that to the south-east has a window to each storey, with a balcony with a pierced stone balustrade. Above is a cornice and brick parapet with a central moulding. The north-west wing has a square stone bay window, with pierced parapet forming a balcony to the upper floor. The parapet to this wing has been rebuilt in concrete.
To the north-east side of the main range the building drops to two storeys with an attic. On these less formal rear elevations window openings have segmental-arched rough brick lintels. The principal entrance to the house, at the south-east corner of the C19 range, has a replacement timber architrave with columns and a pediment, and partly-glazed early-C19 door.
The two-storey north-east range retains small box framing on the upper floor of the north-west elevation; a break in the elevation and roofline to the north-east end indicate the phases of building, and the roof above the timber-framed section has been raised. On the ground floor there is a pair of glazed patio doors, and other windows are casements in irregular openings. The south-east elevation, which faces onto the forecourt, has been rebuilt in brick, and has irregular window openings with modern windows. An external stair provides access to a modern inserted doorway on the first floor. There is a shallowly-pitched roof with overhanging eaves and a hip at the north-east end.
INTERIOR: the main entrance leads into a hall with an arched opening beyond which is an open-well stair with stick balusters and a ramped and wreathed moulded oak handrail rising through the three floors. There is a white marble fireplace in the lounge, and further C19 fireplaces elsewhere. Doors are six-panelled with reeded architraves, and there are panelled shutters to the windows. Various other joinery and plaster mouldings survive. In the attic and north-east wing are reused early-C18 doors with H and H-L hinges. The rear wing has a stop-chamfered spine beam and fragmentary timber framing.
