Hookergate Lane, Beda Lodge

This 2 storey house set in large landscaped grounds was built for the Mining Agent of the nearby Garesfield Colliery. Consequently the coal deposits under the house were left undisturbed to avoid the possibility of subsidence. It appears tp have been built in several phases, of honey-coloured sandstone rubble with dressed details. The shallow-pitched roof is of welsh slate, with rendered chimneys topped with assorted pots and snow boards. There is a square house to the southwest which is likely to be the earliest part, with a larger block to the northeast including a small hipped gable to the northeast corner of the principal (southeast) elevation. On this elevation, to the ground floor of the square house, is a large chamfered bay constructed of solid sandstone jambs and lintels with heavy cornice to the top, housing timber French doors. Spanning the centre of the elevation is a large Edwardian conservatory of white-painted timber with slender vertical glazing bars and panelled base. To the ground floor of the hipped gable and the whole of the 1st floor are timber sashes with asymmetric vertical glazing bars. The original cast iron rainwater goods with decorative hopper heads are still present. MATERIALS Sandstone, slate, timber DATES c1845. Additions 1898 for the Consett Iron Company Ltd. LOCAL LIST