An architectural puzzle - Ockford Road, Godalming

Image: © Stefan Czapski Taken: 26 Aug 2016

I had driven past this little building a number of times in recent years and had wondered about the curious frieze that runs across the gable end - a detail known as a dentil frieze, normally found as part of a classical façade. Why, I wondered, had a humble little building been graced with such a symbol of social standing? The road was for centuries a major highway - the old Portsmouth Road - but these days seems fairly narrow for the amount of traffic it carries (notice the double yellow lines). On this August evening I managed to find a place to park, then walked back to have a look. The plate by the door says 'Toll House'. Aha, so the frieze was there as a symbol of authority. I suspect that an architectural historian like Sir John Summerson would look at the four horizontal projections in the gable and see them as vestigial capitals - implying two short pilasters and two tall ones. (Were the verticals originally painted in, I wonder?). In any case, in Summerson's terms the whole arrangement would be totally 'ungrammatical' - architectural double-Dutch. Another curious feature of the building is its plan: the 'façade' (such as it is) is aligned with the roadway, but the walls that flank it run back at a skewed angle. It would be good to know more of its history.

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