Bradwell Lodge, Bradwell on Sea

Image: © Stephen Richards Taken: 11 May 2011

There is a Tudor house here, but in 1781-86 John Johnson added a fashionable south wing for Reverend Henry Bate Dudley. The belvedere is an unusual feature. The portico was added by Quinlan Terry in 2005. Grade II* listed. The light in the belvedere was favoured by Gainsborough who painted Dudley and his wife. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Johnson (1732-1814) was one of a breed of skilled, provincial builder-architects who, during the C18th and C19th, created substantial parts of the built fabric of the country that we see today. He practised mostly in Essex, where he was County Surveyor 1782-1812, Suffolk and the east Midlands. As well as public commissions arising from his surveyorship, he built up a considerable country house practice, and engaged in speculative development in London. An unsuccessful banking venture, however, left him bankrupt. Colvin's Dictionary of British Architects describes him as an "able designer in a late Georgian manner ... although not marked by much individuality, his work is always elegant". ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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