Severn Lodge

Cadw's description

Location

Located approximately 1.0km NW of Leighton church on R bank of River Severn.

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

One-and-a-half storey lodge consisting of a gabled main range with wings to L and R. The wing to L is set further back and has a porch at the angle with the main range. Of coursed, rock-faced Cefn stone with ashlar dressings, coped gables on moulded kneelers; slate roof with axial stacks to the wings. The main range has a sash window in the attic above an ashlar canted bay with plain parapet and with a cross-window in the centre. The other main elevations have cross-windows with 8-pane sash windows in the attic. The porch has a plain parapet and narrow sash window in the side wall. The lintelled doorway has a boarded door with fake strap hinges. The L wing has an integral lean-to behind with corrugated iron roof.

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. Severn 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.