Sherborne Lodge and Associated Gatepiers and Gates, Compton Castle, Compton Pauncefoot, Somerset

Summary

Lodge and associated gate piers and gates, built in c 1825 in the Gothick style. The lodge was extended to the rear in the late-C19. Not included in the listing is the late-C20 wall.

Description

Lodge and associated gate piers and gates, built in circa 1825 in the Gothick style. The lodge was extended to the rear in the late-C19.

MATERIALS: constructed of Cary stone rubble and Doulting stone ashlar dressings.

PLAN: a roughly square footprint with a three-bay convex, angled façade to the south-east, flanked by circular turrets. The building is set into a slope with the principal elevation at the highest point and the ground falling away to the rear.

EXTERIOR: the two-storey principal elevation (south-east) has a string course and a castellated parapet; the flanking turrets are also castellated. There is a central entrance with a flat-roofed stone porch with angled offset buttresses and a pointed arched opening with hollowed reveals. The door is modern. Above the porch is a two-light chamfered mullion window with pointed heads and hollowed spandrels beneath a square hoodmould with label stops. To the outer bays, at ground and first-floor level, are two-light Y-traceried chamfered mullion windows with arched hoodmoulds with square label stops. To the rear (north-west) is a late-C19 extension which rises to three stories and has mid- to late-C20 windows, some possibly in inserted openings. Its north-west elevation has a round-headed entrance with plank door to the ground floor, and two casement windows to the upper floors. The rear elevation (north-west) is rendered to the second floor, while the left return has a ground-floor doorway with half-glazed door and a canopy over, and a window to the floor above, both are late-C20 replacements.

INTERIOR: not inspected (2012).

SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: attached to the right side of the lodge is a late-C20 castellated wall with vehicle and pedestrian entrances with timber doors. This wall is excluded from the listing. To the right of the wall is a pair of early-C19 stone circular gate piers and wrought-iron gates. The gate piers are constructed of Cary and Doulting stone and are about 600mm in diameter. They have a plain plinth on a square base and have a thin, moulded top with two rounded steps terminating in Gothick style crocketted finials. The wrought-iron gates have barbed spear-points to the bottom rails and scroll decoration.

The associated gate piers and gates were previously listed independently at List entry 1248489. This entry was removed from the List on 1st December 2015.

History

Compton Castle and its landscaped garden were constructed in c 1820-25 by John Hubert Hunt (c 1774-1830). The Hunt family appears to have had an estate in Compton Pauncefoot since the mid-C17; John Hubert Hunt inherited the estate from his father in 1807. He never married and it was not until his later years that he created the new house and park. The suggestion in the current list description that the house incorporates part of an earlier, C17 house, is refuted by the map evidence of an 1800 survey of the estate, which shows the site of the castle as open farmland.

Hunt’s architect is generally thought to have been John Finden (c 1782-1849), who exhibited drawings for the ‘Elevation of a House now building for J.H. Hunt Esq, at Compton Pauncefoot’ at the Royal Academy in 1821. He was probably also responsible for the design of the lodges, and some of the other structures within the landscape. Finden is not known to have worked on landscape commissions, and it is supposed that Hunt was closely involved in the design of the landscape, or possibly that another designer was employed.

After Hunt's death in 1830, Compton Castle was let by the family (Husey-Hunt from 1830) to a series of tenants, with a relatively frequent changeover. In 1836 the estate was described by William Phelps in his History of Somerset as consisting of 'a castellated mansion delightfully situated in a small amphitheatre of wood; with an enormous mass of artificial rock-work, erected at a great expense, which forms a striking object from the castle. [...] The approach to the castle from the turnpike road is by a drive through the plantation, and over the dam thrown across the valley, which keeps up the water of the lake. Here a good view of the castle presents itself. The grounds contain many striking features, and the whole may be designated as a picturesque and comfortable residence’.

The landscaped garden and its features, as described in the early C19, are shown on the Tithe Map of the Parish of Compton Pauncefoot published in 1839, and subsequent historic Ordnance Survey maps indicate that the overall layout of the landscape has remained largely unchanged. In 1911, Compton Castle and its landscaped garden were sold to William Peake Mason, later Lord Blackford, who commissioned the architect Charles Biddulph-Pinchard to make alterations to the house. After Lord Blackford's death in 1947 his wife continued to live at Compton Castle for some time, and during the 1950s she regularly opened the gardens to the public. Lady Blackford died in 1958. It is not known when the family sold the house, but the contents were sold in 1961. Compton Castle remains (2013) in private ownership.

Sherborne Lodge, listed as East Lodge, is included on the Compton Pauncefoot Tithe Map (1839). The 1856 estate map depicts the front range of the lodge with turrets to either end. An extension to the rear was added prior to 1887, while the wall which links the lodge with the associated gateway was built in the late-C20.

Reasons for Listing

Sherborne Lodge and associated gatepiers and gates, built in c 1825, is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

* Architectural interest: as an early-C19 example of a lodge built in the Gothick style. It is well-executed with good attention to detailing and anticipates the architectural quality of the house, the Grade II* listed Compton Castle;
* Degree of survival: externally, the principal elevation of the lodge survives well and retains its associated gate piers and gates;
* Group Value: the lodge at the north-east entrance to the estate makes an important contribution to the historic ensemble of the Compton Castle estate and the Grade II registered park and garden in which it stands.

External Links

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.