'Worcester Lodge', Badminton

Last crawled date: 2 years ago

Grade 1 Listed Building. Designed by Architect William Kent in 1746 and completed after his death by Stephen Wright in 1750. This hunting and banqueting lodge on the Badminton Estate shows Kent's genius for using Palladian architectural vocabulary to Baroque effect. It also incorporates a gateway into the estate through the central arched passageway. The building has a rusticated and vermiculated lower stage contrasting with smooth ashlar above. The central bay breaks forward with a round-headed window almost filling the upper storey. There are niches either side; and the Beaufort arms is in the tympanum of the open pediment above. Around the perimeter of the building there is a balustraded balcony in each direction. Surmounting the whole is a low octagonal drum and a flat octagonal dome. On each flank of the building there is a single-storey rusticated lodge with a small stone pyramid on top as well as four stone ball finials. #Badminton #gateway #Lodge