Studio Hallett Ike updates and extends Victorian lodge in the grounds of a London cemetery

UK practice Studio Hallett Ike has completed the renovation and extension of a gothic-style lodge in the grounds of a London cemetery.

Named Cemetery House, the Grade II-listed Victorian lodge was originally designed by Thomas Little in 1855 as a vicarage house accompanying two chapels in Paddington Cemetery in Kilburn, north west London.

Alongside the refurbishment of the existing lodge’s interior, Studio Hallett Ike extended its ground and first floors with spaces designed to have what it called a “rustic sensibility,” with nods to its original gothic character.

“The design seeks to reconcile the disciplined formality of the original architecture with a warm, rustic sensibility influenced by Mediterranean and mid-century Californian references,” said the studio. “The result is a calm and grounded architecture that balances openness with intimacy.”

On the ground floor, a new central axis connects the entrance of Cemetery House directly with the garden through full-height glass doors in the extension, helping to open up the lodge’s formerly compartmentalised plan.

The home’s living spaces sit connected but divided by changes in level, with a raised dining area and sunken conversation pit located alongside a kitchen housed within the new extension.

“The stepped arrangement defines hierarchy and purpose, creating distinction without separation,” explained the studio.

“What was once a cellular and disconnected arrangement is now a sequence of hierarchical spaces unified by material and proportion.”

This kitchen features full-height sliding glass doors that open out onto a refurbished garden, where a stepped concrete patio and outdoor fireplace are wrapped by a white stucco wall.

Inside, a stone island at the kitchen’s centre is surrounded by areas of full-height storage that were built from dark and knotty Pippy oak.

Upstairs, the home’s first floor has been extended with a new dressing room and ensuite bathroom, centred around a large micro-cement bath and travertine sinks.

This bathroom connects to the bedroom through a large, pointed arch opening, designed to mimic the lodge’s original gothic-style window surrounds.

Externally, the extensions were finished in pale Petersen Kolumba brick, with the ground floor extension topped by an in-situ case concrete spandrel beam.

“Deep reveals and precise brick articulation introduce depth and solidity, while large glazed pivot doors establish a direct visual link to a re-imagined courtyard garden,” said the studio.

“As a studio, the intention remains to carry out a small number of strong but simple interventions that are consistently applied and rigorously detailed,” Studio Hallett Ike said.

“Cemetery House embodies this approach – quietly confident, minimal, and timeless,” it added.

Studio Hallett Ike was founded in 2018 by Jonty Hallett and Madeleine Ike.

Previous projects by the practice include the refurbishment of a Victorian townhouse in east London via a series of “subtle adjustments” to its previously cramped interiors and a dark brick extension to a London flat.

The photography is by Michael Sinclair.

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