Pine Lodge

Cadw's description

Location

Located approximately 1.9km S of Leighton church at the edge of a woodland plantation.

History

Later C19, possibly designed by the Liverpool architect W.H. Gee for John Naylor. Naylor, a Liverpool banker, had acquired the Leighton Estate in 1846-47 and embarked on an ambitious programme of building, notably Leighton Hall, church and Leighton Farm, all designed by Gee and completed by the mid 1850s. Leighton Hall was constructed 1850-56. Naylor continued to extend and improve the Estate until his death in 1889, during which time a number of lodges were built, all of which use similar materials but have subtle differences in their design, and which contrast with the plainer brick labourers’ cottages. Naylor’s grandson, Captain J.M. Naylor, sold Leighton Hall and the Estate in 1931.

Exterior

Simple Tudor-Gothic lodge of one-and-a-half storeys, consisting of a main range with cross-gables to front and rear, forming a cruciform plan, and with a porch to R of cross-gable. Of coursed, rock-faced Cefn stone with coped gables (which have fleur-de-lys finials) and slate roof. Axial stack to rear cross-gable. The main elevations have 3-light mullioned windows and single-light attic windows. The porch has a parapet with freestone coping and plinth, and a doorway under a cambered lintel with a boarded door.

Interior

Not inspected (November 1996).

Reason for designation

The Leighton Estate is an exceptional example of high-Victorian estate development. It is remarkable for the scale and ambition of its conception and planning, the consistency of its design, the extent of its survival, and is the most complete example of its type in Wales. Pine Lodge is an important element of this whole ensemble at Leighton. It is one of a series of lodges, all subtly different, which makes an important contribution to the architectural character of the Estate, and in contrast with the plainer brick labourers’ dwellings, expresses the hierarchy of estate buildings.