The Grotto is a Grade II* listed building in the Central Bedfordshire local planning authority area, England. First listed on 23 January 1961. Grotto. 1 related planning application.
The Grotto
- WRENN ID
- eternal-stronghold-rook
- Grade
- II*
- Local Planning Authority
- Central Bedfordshire
- Constituency
- Mid Bedfordshire MP: Blake Stephenson (Con)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 23 January 1961
- Type
- Grotto
- Address
- The Grotto, Woburn
- OS grid reference
- SP 966 326
- Coordinates
- 51.98395, -0.59346
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The Grotto is a Grade II* listed structure located in Woburn Park, built around 1839 for John, the 6th Duke of Bedford. This small, single-storey octagonal building features random rubble walls made of various types of stone. It has an embattled parapet with triangular merlons and pointed-arched openings on alternating sides. The southern opening includes part-glazed double doors with decorative cast iron glazing bars, while the western and eastern openings lack glazing, and alterations to the lower parts of the walls suggest they may have originally been doorways.
Inside, the Grotto has patterned cobbled floors, and the walls and ceiling are adorned with shells, quartz, graphite, and other geological specimens sourced from Devon and Cornwall. The ceiling is domed and features a central stalactite.
Local climate
The Grotto sits in a drier-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 720 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 84% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 84% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 33 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 54% of listed buildings. Of these, 16 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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- No EPC on record for this property
- No sale records on file
- 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
Matched applications, energy data and sale records are assembled automatically and may contain errors. Flag incorrect data.
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