Church Lodge

Cadw's description

Location

Located at the N entrance to Leighton Farm, on S side of a minor road between Leighton and Trelystan, and beside a gated driveway immediately E of Leighton church.

History

Built for John Naylor probably by the Liverpool architect W.H. Gee 1851-52. 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 largely completed by the mid 1850s. Leighton Hall was constructed 1850-56, the church 1851-53. 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. Church Lodge is one of the earliest of the lodges. Naylor’s grandson, Captain J.M. Naylor, sold Leighton Hall and the Estate in 1931.

Exterior

Simple Tudor-Gothic style lodge of one-and-a-half storeys, consisting of a main gabled range with 2 lower wings. The wing to R is set further back and has a porch at the angle with the main range. Roughcast, painted walls with painted ashlar dressings, including coped gables on moulded kneelers. Slate roof with axial stacks to the wings. The main elevations have 2-light mullioned windows incorporating top-hung and side-hung casements (renewed in original openings), and single-light casements in the attic. The porch has a plain parapet and openings under cambered lintels. (C20 single-storey extensions to rear of main range and wing to L.)

Interior

Not inspected (October 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. Church 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. Church Lodge is also part of a strong visual group comprising church, lodge, Pentre House and gateway, all designed in a Gothic idiom.