Glimpsed through trees from across the river the Master’s Lodge has a bucolic air. It speaks of changing ideals. Today we explore the story of this remarkable project.
The Master’s Lodge at St John’s College Cambridge is a discreet stately house. It has gables and crenellations dressed in pale stone. The lodge still serves as the official residence of the college master. Its large rooms host meetings receptions and college events.
Between 1863 and 1865 Sir George Gilbert Scott created a new lodge. This was for the Master of St John’s College. The need for a new lodge resulted from Scott’s new chapel for the college. The chapel swept away the old master’s lodgings. Visitors might think they are looking at Cambridge’s Cathedral. Scott made an emphatic statement of institutional confidence.
Scott was introduced to the Gothic style by the Cambridge Camden Society. He was also influenced by the publications of A. W. N. Pugin. Scott worked on over 800 buildings. He restored 25 cathedrals. When he died in 1878 he was buried in Westminster Abbey. His funeral rites were the grandest ever accorded to a British architect.
Scott wrote about the Gothic style. He said it was pre-eminently free comprehensive and practical. It adapted itself to every change. He also thought plate glass was a useful and beautiful invention. It gave cheerfulness to a house as demonstrated at the lodge.
Scott quoted Pugin on good domestic design. Every person should be lodged as becomes his station and dignity. This shaped his thinking about the Master’s Lodge.
The Master’s Lodge feels like a large High Victorian rectory. It links to the vision of the cathedral-like chapel. The windows provide a visual link to the early-16th-century character of First Court.
Scott designed five iterations of the lodge. His first scheme was in 1862. It suggested a new chapel and court with the lodge integral. Later a more conservative option retained the old chapel. It extended the original master’s lodgings northwards. A third proposal was for a freestanding house. In 1863 a fourth plan imagined a lodge around three sides of a small yard.
The fifth proposal was executed. It was a long rectangular block running westwards. It had an independent entrance from Bridge Street. More than 30 buildings were demolished to provide a clear site. The lodge was less isolated when built. More houses were torn down for the North Court.
A lower wing runs westwards. It has domestic offices and servants’ accommodation. The stables were built in 1876. The previous master’s lodgings were close to the old chapel. They linked to the college hall. The original accommodation was enhanced by a Long Gallery. By the 19th century the lodgings were considered inconveniently small.
Once Scott’s proposal was agreed the days of the historic building were numbered. Scott wrote of the alterations. They consisted of elongating the Hall. They adapted the Gallery. They erected a new Master’s Lodge. The building would cost £7500 or a little more.
The College Order accepted the tender for the chapel and the New Master’s Lodge. A substantial amount of new furniture was supplied. The interiors are notable for recovered panelling. They also feature moulded timber ceilings and carved stone chimneypieces. This created a direct link back to the college’s founders.
Gavin Stamp suggests George Gilbert Scott Jr. took charge of the lodge’s interiors. There are no known examples of Scott Sr. recycling historic fittings. Scott Jr. advised on the painting in the extended Hall in 1867.
Decisions were taken during the demolitions. The contract for the Lodge was increased. This was after discovering the beautiful ceiling of the old Combination Room. The old oak was very hard. Preparing it for the ceilings was costly.
The small entrance lobby is fitted with recycled old panelling. The main hall is lined with 16th-century panelling. It has an early-16th-century ceiling. The drawing room and dining room have tall windows. Gothic chimneypieces are carved and painted.
The main staircase rises to the first floor. It has stained-glass windows and a recycled 16th-century ceiling. Off the landing is the Oak Room. It is a reassembly of Bishop Fisher’s great chamber. The Master’s Study has a large bay window and a recycled 16th-century ceiling.
Today the lodge has an air of solid permanence. The lodge was carefully restored in 2007. It is widely used and appreciated. It reveals Cambridge’s search for aesthetic and institutional identity.