Summer house and associated staircases in Rivington Gardens at SD 6370 1393

The summer house and associated staircases in Rivington Gardens were built in 1922, designed by Thomas Mawson for Lord Leverhulme. Constructed from gritstone, the building has a rectangular plan.

This single-storey summer house features a flat roof and overlooks Breres Meadow to the west. In front, there is a semi-circular paved area bordered by three steps that provide access from the nearby woodland track. A short flight of steps leads to a broad entrance, which is centrally placed and divided into three sections by two pairs of thin, stacked gritstone columns. Similar columns are positioned at either end of the entrance. On either side of the entrance, there are slightly protruding bays, each with a centrally-placed two-light stone mullion window framed by rock-faced gritstone surrounds.

Flanking staircases on both sides of the summer house lead up to a viewing deck that is surrounded by a parapet on the flat roof. At the rear, a stone staircase with flanking walls ascends eastwards up the hillside, splitting into two paths that run alongside a small flat viewing area before merging into a single staircase with flanking walls that continues uphill to reach a terraced track aligned north-south. Access to the interior of the summer house and its viewing deck is restricted by iron railings.