NHER 65743 (Building record) - Northwold Hall (formerly Northwold Lodge), 3 Little London Road, Northwold

Northwold Lodge
Northwold Hall, formerly Northwold Lodge, was owned by Captain Charles Amherst Daniel-Tyssen (1804-1882) (S1), the second son of William George Daniel-Tyssen (S2) of nearby Didlington Hall (NHER 4821). No building is shown at the site on Bryant’s Map of Norfolk dated 1826 (S3) but the Tithe Map (S4) created between 1836 and 1850 shows an ‘L’-shaped domestic dwelling with the long axis running east-west and the short axis running north-south at the eastern end. The main elevation faced approximately south and two uninhabited structures abutted the main building on the northern side. From the map evidence this building is of early to mid-19th century date and is likely the precursor to the ‘Northwold Lodge’ described below as it bears little resemblance to that shown on the First Edition Ordnance Survey map (S5) published in 1884. It is unknown if any of the fabric of the earlier structure survives within Northwold Lodge. The 1972 sales particulars for Northwold Lodge Estate (S6) state that the property was constructed in the early 19th century. This document also notes that the building underwent ‘considerable’ renovation in about the late 1950s (S6).

Northwold Lodge is a 19th century Regency-style house set within a small landscape park (NHER 65744). It is a brick built, part rendered, two-storey structure with a hipped slate roof. The plan, shown on the First Edition Ordnance Survey map (S5), is roughly rectangular with an open courtyard at the heart of the northern half, which is entered from the east. The current main roof shown on Google Earth imagery (S7) is ‘T’-shaped in formation with the north-south aligned section being single gabled with two tall chimney stacks, while the east-west aligned section has a double-hipped roof with two tall chimney stacks on the southern ridge. It is not known if this formation of roof is original to the Lodge. Extensions of unknown date on the northern side of the building have their own hipped roofs. A structure extending from the north-east of the main structure is evident on the First Edition Ordnance Survey map (S5) and is clearly indicated as a glass structure, probably a conservatory, on the Second Edition Ordnance Survey map (S8). This was perhaps the ‘Garden Room’, or ‘Flower Room’ mentioned in the 1972 sales particulars (S6). A modern conservatory structure can be seen in the same position on the 2018 Google Earth photography (S7).

Eastern elevation:
Information from an early 20th-century photograph (S9) unless otherwise stated.
The two-storeys symmetrical elevation is set out in three bays with a central doorway, plus five ‘six over six’ sash windows with glazing bars and hidden sash boxes. The door is of unknown character but appears from photograph (S9) to have a lunette, possibly glazed, above. There is a flat hooded porch carried on Doric columns and engaged columns to the wall.

Southern elevation:
Information from an extract of the 1972 sales particulars for Northwold Lodge Estate (S6) unless otherwise stated.
The two-storey elevation can be divided into at least three bays. The western bay consists of a canted extension protruding southwards from the main building, with three sash windows to each storey. This extension may be a later addition as it is shown on the Second Edition Ordnance Survey map (S8) but not the First Edition (S5). The middle bay is set slightly back and has at least one sash window to each storey, as does the easternmost bay that forms the main body of the building. A veranda runs the whole length of the southern elevation, around the canted extension and along the western elevation. This is depicted on the Second Edition Ordnance Survey map (S8) and the ironwork was said to have been “painted o’er with white and green” in George West’s poem (S10) about Northwold Lodge Park penned after his visit in 1858-1859. All windows shown in the photograph of the south elevation in (S6) are ‘two over two’ sash windows.

Western elevation:
Information from 2021 photograph of western elevation of Northwold Hall (S11) unless otherwise stated.
The main, two-storey, portion of the house is divided into three bays. Each bay has a ‘two over two’ sash window to the upper floor and a set of French doors to the ground floor. The doors are divided into four by glazing bars and are not original. A 1905 photograph (S12) of the western veranda shows a three-quarter glazed door divided into two large central glazed panes with a decorative coloured and painted stained glass border of smaller panes. This image also shows that the veranda abutting the western mock ashlar rendered wall of the Lodge was divided into seven bays by decorative wrought iron pillars supporting a solid roof canopy with decorative ironwork friezes. The roof covering is unknown. Beyond the veranda on the 1905 photograph (S12) the conservatory (or Garden Room/Flower Room (S6)) extension can be seen to be entered by a three-quarter glazed panelled door, glazed in a similar manner to the French doors. The conservatory appears to have been glazed with two tiers of glazing and the visible lower tier is divided by glazing bars into four levels of small rectangular panes and set on a masonry base. A sketch of Northwold Lodge from the Wilkinson family archive dated to between 1834 and 1905 (S13) shows the conservatory in relation to the veranda and main building. The 2021 photograph (S11) shows that the veranda does not survive and that although the current single-storey conservatory lies in the same position as the original conservatory it is not of the same character and is therefore a replacement.

Northern elevation:
There is no information available about this side of the building.

Interior:
Information from an extract of the 1972 sales particulars for Northwold Lodge Estate (S6) unless otherwise stated.
In the late 20th-century the interior of the property included an entrance lobby and reception hall, dining room, drawing room, study, ‘L-shaped Garden Room’, ‘Flower Room’, Workroom, side lobby to yard and a rear hall/gun room. The domestic quarters included a staff sitting room, kitchen, two pantries, a scullery and cold store. The upstairs had 4 bedrooms and two bathrooms as well as two staff bedrooms, a staff bathroom and box room.

Northwold Lodge is associated with a complex of outbuildings shown on the First Edition Ordnance Survey map (S5) at TL 76369 96759 and recorded under NHER 65744, Northwold Lodge Park. One of the buildings was known ‘Keeper’s Cottage’ (5 Little London Road) in the 1972 sales particulars and the Estate was said to consist of 46 acres (S6). An icehouse also associated with the Lodge is recorded under NHER 30148.

Also see correspondence (S14).
A. Beckham (HES), 1 September 2022.