The Menagerie

The Menagerie is a semi-ruinous structure dating from the late 18th century, likely built for Sir Richard Hill, the second baronet of Hawkstone. It is constructed from regularly coursed and dressed red sandstone and is currently roofless. The building features three surviving walls that enclose a rectangular area measuring approximately 12 by 6 meters and reaching a maximum height of 6 meters. At the front, there are collapsed remains of an open five-bay pointed arcade with an embattled parapet. To the left and right, there are remnants of attached screen walls, which also previously had pointed arches, standing up to five courses high as of the last survey in March 1986. Located on the southern slope of Elysian Hill, the Menagerie once housed a collection of stuffed birds in the early 19th century. The arcade collapsed following a gale in 1952.