Explore The Old Lodge in Bristol, the city’s only thatched private home with a rich history dating back to the early 1800s.
There’s a special house on Henleaze Road in Bristol. It is called The Old Lodge. People have known it for over two centuries.
The Old Lodge stands out in Henleaze and is likely Bristol’s only thatched private home. This Grade II listed building has a rich history and resembles cottages at Blaise Hamlet. John Nash designed those, plus Buckingham Palace.
The cottage seems out of place today, as it sits between shops on Henleaze Road. Still, it reveals Henleaze’s past story.
The cottage dates back to around 1810 and was once part of Henleaze Park House. The park house later became bungalows. Blaise Hamlet is nearby; John Nash also designed that area, and The Old Lodge’s design is similar, though Nash’s involvement is unproven.
James Blackmore was the first resident, working as an agricultural labourer there. Samuel and Jane Martin lived there later, running Henleaze Dairy Farm nearby and residing there from 1866 to 1871.
Mrs. Walter Derham stayed at Henleaze Park House and let the lodge to Samuel Derham. He made shoes and died in 1886. Henry and Elizabeth George occupied the Lodge thereafter, after Henleaze Dairy Farm was let out.
Veronica Bowerman studied its history and wrote about it in The Henleaze Book. A “spy window” is a key feature, letting the keeper watch visitors from the sitting or dining rooms.
In the 1920s, the estate was split up, and the cottage turned into a private home. The United Reformed Church rented it, and their minister, Eric McNeill, lived there from 1920 to 1927.
Helen McLachlan bought the house in 1958, and its thatch roof had been ignored for a century. Webbers of Dunster re-thatched the roof; they have been thatchers for 400 years. Thatch needs replacing every twenty years.
Veronica started writing local history articles there. She asked Helen about writing about the house in the late 1980s.
Helen welcomed her and showed her around the house. The cottage felt surprisingly spacious and is a very photographed home. Its roof, windows, and age make it unique, and the original reed thatch dates to 1810 and was considered very strong.
The Old Lodge remains a private property today and is the only building in Bristol with a thatched roof.