Garden Lodges

When the house is situated a considerable distance within its boundary, a lodge or home for some servant to the owner is needful for the convenience of himself, and visitors, and the accommodation of people coming on matters of business. It is by no means necessary that this building should assume an ostentatious display, its size is adverse to high pretension; but being the introductory medium to the house, where the visitor receives his first impression of the place, it is important that it should show propriety and fitness - have fair pretension to suitableness of character with the estate to which it belongs, and possess undoubted convenience and comfortable accommodation.

In general the lodge ought to be situated at an adequate distance from the house and its buildings, to make it clear that the accompanyment of a lodge cannot be dispensed with: for when too near the edifice, it assumes the appearance of ostentation rather than of unquestionable accommodation. It is no less worthy of great care that it should, in point of size and seeming, be perfectly suited to the consequence of the estate, and possess those qualities which best cause it to harmonize with its accompanying scenery. Of no less real importance is the internal arrangement of this building, which ought to be so disposed as to prevent the appearance of a greater quantity of building than its own nature and its relation to the estate demands.

A wise architect will not fail to adopt that style of building in which to make his design, that some circumstance adequately important to govern it may demand, and thence supply its character : this will arise either from the nature of the country in which it is placed, the peculiarities of the place on which it is to be built, the edifice to which it is attendant, or the rank and station of the owner.

In general it may be said of garden lodges that they ought to be conisidered as a higher class of cottages, improved upon the foregoing, principles, and also sparingly decorated.