We believe these twin lodges date from the early 19th century, and were probably designed by the English architect, Benjamin Wyatt. The Golden Gates lodges are the entrance to Wynyard Hall and park. The Wellington Oberlisk can be seen in the distance on the first photograph between the trees.
Two of the best English architects were the brothers Samuel Wyatt (1737-1807) and James Wyatt (1746-1813), the sons of Benjamin Wyatt, a Staffordshire builder and architect, head of the family firm Benjamin Wyatt and Sons, Blackbrook Farm, Weeford, Staffordshire.
Benjamin Wyatt, architect, who designed the entrance gates to Wynyard Park, was the son of the above James Wyatt. Benjamin Wyatt won the competition to rebuild the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, which had been destroyed by fire in 1809. He succeeded his father James in the post of surveyor at Westminster Abbey from 1813 to 1827, and designed the interiors of Belvoir Castle (1825–30), and with his brother, Philip William Wyatt (d. 1835), he designed Crockford’s Club (1827), 50–3 St James’s Street, Londonderry House (1825–28) and the Oriental Club in Hanover Square (1827–1828) He was involved in the design of Lancaster House, designing the exterior and the state rooms. As victor of the Battle of Waterloo (1815), the Duke of Wellington (Arthur Wellesley) had been voted a total of £700,000 by Parliament to build a new ‘Waterloo Palace’ – accommodation appropriate to his status – as ‘the greatest general in Europe’, this sum of money was used by Wellington to acquire the country estate of Stratfield Saye, near Reading. Benjamin Wyatt was the architect engaged by the Duke of Wellington to undertake the design work for his new home.