Grotto in the garden of 101 Bristol Road

A Gothick grotto, probably built for James Guest, a merchant, in the early-C19.

MATERIALS: The grotto is constructed of red brick faced with blast-furnace slag, shells, animal bones and teeth impressed into cement.

PLAN: the structure is D-shaped in plan with a flat front elevation and semi-circular rear wall.

DESCRIPTION: the grotto is Gothick in style and has a pedimented front with two, pointed-arch windows flanking a central ogee-arched door. The window and door surrounds are dressed with shells and animal teeth. The pediment sits above a shell frieze and features a central star-burst motif and three short obelisk pinnacles to each corner. Only the lower part of the rear, semi-circular wall survives. Its inner surface features low-level panels framed by sheep or cow vertebrae and decorated with shells. This wall also features slots suggesting that there may have been a fitted bench around the back wall. Fragments of a timber door are suggested to survive. The roof is no longer present.