White Lodge is a late C19th gate lodge located within Donnington Grove Grade II Registered Historic Park and Garden, and Donnington Village Conservation Area (CA). Architect not known.
Painted brick with clay tiled gabled roof, with dentilled eaves, one original chimney remaining serving two rooms on each floor, possible original gutter and drainpipe, square plan form, sash windows, internal plan shows surviving original layout – three/four rooms on each floor, originally with fireplaces. Ground floor probably entrance hall, parlour, living kitchen and scullery, first floor probably upper landing and three bedrooms.
The description for the Registered Park of Donnington notes that a second drive approaches the house from Donnington village, with the entrance marked by White Lodge, ‘a twostorey, whitewashed brick lodge’. This lodge has not been listed. Unlike Pink Lodge to the west and Lambourn Lodge to the south, White Lodge is not shown on the First Edition Ordnance Survey mapping but first appears on the 1899 Second Epoch OS map. The other lodges may be of late 18th or early 19th century date, but this building presumably fulfilled a later need for controlling access to Donnington Grove park from the village. It has architectural similarities with the late C18th Pink Lodge.
White Lodge is a charming and modest detached building, of painted brick construction. It is of simple form and construction, with a plain clay tiled gable clay roof, with dentilled eaves. Its significance is derived, in part at least, from the building’s age; its traditional form and detailing; its historic and functional association with Donnington Grove Registered Park and Garden, Donnington Grove Grade II* house, and Donnington Village CA; and its modest form, which is typical of estate lodges. The house’s existence bears testament to the historical development of Donnington Grove Park.
Reasons for inclusion on Local List:
- Built as a gate house to Donnington Grove, this is a modest building of attractive character.
- It was a gatehouse for the Grade II listed Donnington Grove, so it sits within the wider landscape of the Registered Park. It is an integral part of the Donnington Grove estate and its development over the years, and as such has special importance in this regard.
- It marks a formal entryway at the boundary of the Donnington Grove estate.
- It lies within the Donnington Village Conservation Area. Although currently overgrown with trees, it forms an attractive feature at the entrance to the Donnington Grove estate.
Location
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