Historic Melton lodge brought back to life
A 19th century Melton Mowbray hunting lodge which has been derelict for years has been given a new lease of life by Leicester property developer Sowden.
Wyndham Lodge, which dates back to the 1840s, is being restored by Sowden and converted to accommodate nine luxury apartments.
The restoration project has involved replacing all of the wood in the lodge as well as a new central staircase, floors and windows in the Grade II listed building.
A hunting lodge has stood on the Ankle Hill site close to Melton centre since 1760. It was renamed Wyndham Lodge in 1840 by the governor of the Tower of London, Colonel Charles Wyndham, who moved there to indulge his passion for foxhunting.
In 1870 it was bought by a William Chaplin who had it completely remodelled in local stone. In 1920 it was bought by Colonel Richard Dalgleish who donated it to the town of Melton for use as a hospital. It was christened the War Memorial Hospital in honour of the dead of the Great War, and used continuously as a hospital until abandoned in 2002.
Sowden managing director Roy Coley said the restoration of the derelict lodge had been a huge project.
“It was a big project which got bigger the more we went into it. The woodwork had dry rot, so that has been completely replaced, along with the floors, window frames and the central staircase. It is now getting a new lease of life, with nine individually designed apartments in what is once again a magnificent building,” he said.
The lodge is the centrepiece of the Wyndham Grange development which consists of 44 new three, four and five-bedroomed homes as well as the luxury apartments in the lodge and smaller dwellings in a French-style renovated coach house.
Almost half of the homes are finished or nearing completion, with the remainder, along with site services and roads, due for completion soon. Show homes have been opened to show off the individually designed houses and apartments.
As well as the new homes, the site includes landscaping and five acres of communal woodland leading down to the River Eye. A nursing home is also planned for part of the site.
