Summary
Villa, early C19, built for John Twemlow, extended and altered in the C19, C20 and C21.
Reasons for Designation
Hatherton Lodge, of early-C19 date, with C19, C20 and C21 alterations, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
Architectural Interest:
* a handsome early-C19 country house, dating from a period when there is a presumption in favour of listing;
* a simple and elegant design, conforming to the principles of the Picturesque Movement, using good quality materials and craftsmanship;
* the plan form of the historic core of the house is retained and is highly readable;
* it retains a number of attractive and good quality original fittings and fixtures including the staircase, joinery and decorative plaster cornices to the principal rooms.
Historic interest:
* the house is a good example of the early-C19 change in fashion away from the large country house, to a smaller, more fashionable gentleman’s country residence, set within its own grounds.
History
A house called Hatherton Lodge has stood on the present site since at least the C17. It was purchased from Sir John Smith by a William Twemlow in 1688 and it then passed down successive generations of the Twemlow family. Another William Twemlow (grandson of the former) is recorded to have made considerable alterations and additions to the house during his lifetime and upon his death in 1807, the house passed to his eldest son, John. It would seem likely that the old house was demolished around this time and replaced by the smaller Regency-period villa we see today; being a fashionable gentleman’s country residence, in a style advocated by the Picturesque Movement, rather than as a centre of a working agricultural estate. The design of the front elevation is reminiscent of Decimus Burton's design of The Holme, Regent's Park that was illustrated in Metropolitan Improvements (1831) and the ground plan shows the influence of such publications as J B Paworth's Rural Residences (1818). There is a clear design relationship between the house and its parkland, with a ha-ha between the two; the house was designed to be seen as a picturesque feature in the landscape garden, and the park with its pasture, lake and plantations, screened and contained from the outside world by a perimeter of trees, was design to be viewed from the principal rooms of the house. The 1844 tithe map shows the house standing within its parkland; it had a cruciform-plan, with an inverted 'U-plan' stable block to the rear and a walled garden to the north-east. It was owned at that time by the Bereton family, who leased it to Charles Mare, who in turn rented it to John Forshaw.
During the mid-C19 the north-eastern side of the house was extended to the rear, to accommodate a new service wing and by 1898, the service range had been widened, part of the old stable block had been demolished, and a new ‘L-plan’ stable and carriage house had been built to the rear. Eventually, by the late C20, the service wing had been further extended and connected to the remains of the old stable block: it is unclear when it took place. Another undated alteration is that of the ha-ha, the ditch has been in-filled and the stone face re-built; nevertheless, these alterations may be historical and it remains an important landscape feature. During 1998, an orangery with a roof terrace was built against the rear of the house. During the early C21, both the house and the grounds were subject to refurbishment and building works, which included some internal works within the house, further extension of the former service range, the replacement of the porch in antis by a late-C18-style portico, the demolition of the remainder of the old stable block, the building of garages and a workshop in the grounds, the re-alignment of the drive together with a new entrance, and the extensive alteration and conversion of the later stable and carriage house (now known as The Old Stables) into a part office/part residence.
Details
Villa, early C19, built for John Twemlow, extended and altered in the C19, C20 and C21.
MATERIALS: brick construction rendered with stucco to the front elevation, a cream coloured limestone portico, a double-pile hipped slate roof with rolled lead ridges and deep timber eaves, supported on pairs of brackets, cast-iron rain water goods and a central panelled rendered stack, with six terracotta chimney pots. The service range has a slate-clad gabled roof, with ridge tiles and has plastic rainwater goods.
PLAN: two-storey L-plan, comprising a rectangular-plan main house, with a rectangular service range attached at a right-angle to the north-eastern end of the rear elevation.
EXTERIOR: Hatherton Lodge has a symmetrical three-bay front elevation (north-west), with a central bow to the first-floor that projects out over a portico to the ground floor. The portico is raised on an ashlar stone step; it has two pairs of Tuscan columns, supporting a flat pediment with a plain architrave and moulded cornice. The painted timber front door has six raised and fielded panels, with a central letter box, a large brass lion's head knocker and a faceted Regency-period door knob. The door is approached by a bow-shaped ashlar step; it is set in a glazed timber surround that has five-pane panels to each side, fluted pilasters and a three-pane fanlight. The right-hand pilaster has a circular dished bell push, with a decorative cast border and a white ceramic button press. The stuccoed front elevation has a low plinth, a plain string course to the first-floor and cornice beneath the eaves above. The stucco rendering wraps around the corners of the side elevations, forming quoins. The portico is flanked to either side by tall 12-pane timber sash windows that have partially exposed sash boxes. The first-floor rooms are lit by three-panel casement windows, resting on the string-course that acts as a sill. The bow has a two-panel casement window, flanked by a pair of single panel casements, also resting on the string course.
The side return elevations are of painted brick work, with a projecting brick plinth, string course and cornice. The right return has a two-storey canted bay to the left, with a modern glazed French door, flanked to either side by single panel casements, with shoulder drip moulds. The first-floor windows are similar to those of the front elevation. A canted bay window with integral glazed side panels and a pitched canopy is situated to the right of the two-storey canted bay. The two-bay left return has a tripartite sash window to the right, set between four plain Tuscan pilasters, beneath a beaded plain architrave and a moulded cornice and an off-set six-pane sash window, resting on the brick string course above. The second bay is set back slightly and has a pair of six-pane sash windows with stone sills to both the ground and first floors. The left return continues as a two-storey multi-phased service wing, which is attached to the rear elevation of the house. The service wing breaks forward slightly from the alignment of the house; it has a mixture of different sized timber casements and sash windows, to both floors and elevations. The first-floor windows and a centrally placed chimney stack break the roof line of the elevation and a modern uPVC door is situated to the right, with a multi-paned bay window to its left. The left bay is a modern extension, differentiated from the remainder, by being rendered, rather than painted brick. The service wing terminates in the blind gable of the extension; its south-west elevation varies in depth, with the elevation breaking forward to accommodate corridors on both floors, and the end of the first floor is cantilevered out over a passageway to the rear patio.
The rear (south-east) elevation of the house has slate cladding above the slope of the attached service range roof, with a two-pane deadlight illuminating the corridor and landing within. The first-floor windows are modern two-pane horned sashes, resting on the string course. The ground floor elevation is obscured by a secondary flat-roofed orangery, and a vestibule, with a glazed pyramidal roof that terminates in a pinnacle. The orangery has three arcaded French doors, with semi-circular fanlights, with a single French door in the south-west elevation. The flat roof of the orangery forms a roof terrace that has a low parapet wall, with stone coping, which is accessed by a glazed door at first-floor level. A chimney breast projects out from the wall line, pierces the roof and terminates in a two flue chimney stack.
INTERIOR: the original plan form of much of the interior of the main body of the house has been retained, however it is unclear whether some of the fixtures and fittings have been introduced. Most of the ground-floor has modern polished stone floor surfaces.
The hall is entered from the front door; it has skirting boards, picture rails and a moulded cornice, decorated with modillions. The front door has a moulded timber door-case, with glazed side panels and five-panel timber shutters. A chimney breast is situated opposite the door; it has a Regency-style white marble fireplace with recessed fielded jambs containing a rose margent, a lintel decorated with stylised triglyphs, a central cartouche and foliate corner bull's-eyes. The fire place has a fluted fire sides and back, with a black marble hearth. Each side wall of the hall has a six panel door, set in a moulded door-case with fielded panels; one leading to the dining room and the other to the drawing room. An open flat arch with a moulded panel surround to the left of the chimney, leads into a vestibule at the base of the stair hall.
The stair hall has an open depressed arch in the south-east wall of the vestibule that gives access to a cloakroom, the former service range and the billiard room. The Regency well stair is lit by a skylight and it rises two flights to the first-floor landing. It has a string with plain tread ends and moulded nosing; the balustrade has a moulded hardwood rail, plain square-section balusters and a newel post mounted on a projecting 'D' end step. The double aspect dining room is lit by a tripartite window in the north-east wall and a large sash window with narrow glazing bars in the north-west wall. The base of the window frame is level with the floor and it has panelled shutters recessed into the jambs. The room has a cornice decorated with acanthus leaves, cherub faces in roundels and vines. The south-west wall is occupied by a Regency-style white marble fireplace with fluted pilasters, patera bull's-eyes and a guilloche lintel with a dentil course, supporting a narrow moulded mantel shelf. The fireplace has fluted fire sides and back and a black marble hearth. The drawing room also has a double aspect and has an identical sash window to that of the dining room, together with a canted bay and a French door opening to the garden. The doorway from the hall is flanked by a Regency-style white marble fireplace that has fluted pilasters, acanthus consoles, a lintel decorated with roundels, swags and a central urn, which supports a moulded mantel shelf. The fireplace has fluted fire sides and back and a black marble hearth. The ceiling is divided in two by a beam and has a moulded cornice. A double door in the south-east wall gives access to the billiard room. The billiard room is lit by a bay window and by a pair of glazed French doors in the south-east wall that are situated to either side of a polychrome fireplace; in addition, it has a six-panel service door in the north-east wall. The fireplace has a white marble surround, yellow and black banded marble in the jambs and lintel and a pair of white marble Tuscan columns supporting a moulded cornice mantel shelf, with a mid-Victorian style cast-iron fire grate.
The orangery is attached to the former rear wall of the house and against the cellar vestibule at its northern end. It has a Tudor-style fireplace flanked by Corinthian-style columns, supporting a deep cornice and is lit by four large French doors with semi-circular fanlights, one of which is in the south-western end. The vestibule leads off the kitchen; it has a glazed pyramidal timber roof that lights a narrow three-panel cellar door, fitted with Regency door furniture. A short flight of modern steps descend from the doorway to a brick vaulted cellar, which is divided into two chambers; the left-hand chamber has a blocked doorway in its northern wall and a doorway in the spine wall that opens into the second chamber, fitted with brick and timber wine racks. The ground-floor of the service range has been substantially modernised with a modern kitchen, day room, breakfast room, cloakroom, study, boiler room and utility room.
The first-floor bedrooms are all accessed from a landing that has a balustrade that matches the staircase, the landing giving access to the three principal bedrooms, all with moulded and panelled door-cases and six panel doors. The string and hand rail of the balustrade deflect at one end to take account of the width of the door-case to the master bedroom. The ceiling of the stair hall is pierced by a skylight and has a picture rail and a cornice with mutule decoration. A passageway leads off from the southern side of the landing, to serve a linen cupboard and a short flight of steps at its southern end, and descends to an axial corridor that runs the length of the service wing, serving two bathrooms and three bedrooms. All of the principal bedrooms in the main body of the house, have lost their fireplaces and have dentil cornices; the north-east bedroom has a modern en-suite bathroom, while the master bedroom has double doors in the south-east wall leading into a dressing room that gives access to a modern en-suite bathroom and the roof terrace. The interior of the roof space was not inspected (2018).
SUBSIDIARY FEATURE: a ha-ha consisting of an approximately 45.72m (150ft) long, coursed rough-dressed dry-stone wall, with flat ashlar coping stones and an in-filled ditch, separates the immediate environs of the house from the pasture and the grounds beyond.
