Fort Henry Pleasure House and Flanking Retaining Walls and Parapet is a Grade II* listed building in the Rutland local planning authority area, England. First listed on 10 December 1981. A Georgian Pleasure house. 1 related planning application.

Fort Henry Pleasure House and Flanking Retaining Walls and Parapet

WRENN ID
carved-bastion-twilight
Grade
II*
Local Planning Authority
Rutland
Constituency
Rutland and Stamford MP: Alicia Kearns (Con)
Country
England
Date first listed
10 December 1981
Type
Pleasure house
Period
Georgian
Address
Fort Henry Pleasure House and Flanking Retaining Walls and Parapet, Exton and Horn, LE15 7QU
OS grid reference
SK 948 121
Coordinates
52.69892, -0.59766
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: sale history · EPC · related consents · flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

Fort Henry is a small lakeside pleasure house or folly, likely built in the late 18th century. It is constructed of ashlar and features a single storey on the west side, with a lower basement facing the lake, which is accessed only from the outside. The central block consists of three bays, flanked by pavilions. The main block has central double doors set within a delicate ogival architrave topped with an acanthus finial, and it is flanked by sash windows that have deep reveals and gothick glazing bars, all connected by a continuous string course. The building has a moulded eaves cornice and a crenellated parapet adorned with ogee-headed merlons and pierced ogival finials at the corners.

The flanking pavilions are shorter and gabled, featuring a cornice and crenellated parapet with pierced finials. The windows in these pavilions are ogee-headed and topped with plume-like acanthus finials. Side doors have arched heads with traceried spandrels. The rear elevation includes two bays of sash windows similar to those at the front, along with two-centred arched windows in the pavilions, which are flanked by colonettes and feature moulded voussoirs and hoodmoulds. The basement contains four-centred arched doors and two pairs of two-centred arched windows. Although the interior has suffered fire damage, it remains exquisitely decorated with finely crafted painted wood and plaster panelling.

The flanking retaining walls that support the terrace have crenellated parapets and polygonal buttresses that end in acanthus finials. These walls return at a 90-degree angle and then curve in a quadrant plan, leading to altar-like curtails. These curtails are decorated with drapery swags and topped with four consoles and large acanthus finials.

Local climate

Fort Henry Pleasure House and Flanking Retaining Walls and Parapet sits in a drier-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 730 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 78% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 79% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 34 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 50% of listed buildings. Of these, 17 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

More on this building

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  • Full EPC report — heating system, energy costs, size, glazing, construction etc.
  • Sale history — 2 transactions since 2016
  • Related listed building consents — 1 application
  • Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
  • Flood risk assessment
  • Radon risk assessment
  • Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
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