Properties

Brock’s Copse Lodge

The original name for the area was Brook’s Copse, bought by Queen Victoria in 1846, but the name soon changed to Brock’s.

In 1864 Brock’s Lodge was built just above the bridge, at the same time a driveway was created through the copse to the south towards the main road between Ryde and Newport, called the Boundary Drive. The south side of the Brock’s Copse road has just the remains of a ‘V A’ monogrammed gate, but traces of the drive have disappeared. A similar lodge was built on the Ryde Road at the southern end of the drive.

Brock’s Lodge in 2006 is often in the shade of the surrounding trees, although when the Queen’s drive was in existence through the woods there were fewer trees and less shade on the lodge itself. It is built from the estate red and buff bricks, but in this lodge the buff bricks form the major part of the building with red banding. It has ornate timber bargeboards. Crossed-brick decoration is used on the chimney-stack and side of the house, together with the same cross pattern on the buff-brick gate piers. The gate matches those of Alverstone Lodge, but this one is in a much better state of repair, showing its entwined monogram and rosettes.

At the time of writing the building is still largely intact and has been little altered. It still has its original Elizabethan-style chimney-pots and the crests mounted on the gable ends. It presents an excellent example of the estate architecture.

Mr and Mrs James Hollyer (or Hollier) were tenants of Brock’s Lodge in 1864. They had moved into the new lodge from Primrose Cottage with their three children – James aged 12, Lucy 10 and Harriet 7. James senr had been working on the estate since 1846, when he was described as a farm labourer, and earned 12s. a week. By 1888 ‘young’ James Hollier was 35 years old and had been working on the estate for 20 years and the family were then living at Six Cottages at the top of the hill along Alverstone Road.

Like many cottages, Brock’s Lodge was reliant upon a well for water. In 1888 a new well was dug, but it was found to be rather brackish and failed completely in summer and autumn. When this happened the lodge had to be supplied by water cart. In 1900 a piped water-supply was laid on to the lodges at Alverstone and Brock’s Copse from a supply found 14 feet down behind Six Cottages in Alverstone Road.

Source: Whippingham by Sarah Burdett