Grand Stairs and Grotto, 50 Metres West of Shrubland Hall is a Grade II* listed building in the Mid Suffolk local planning authority area, England. First listed on 9 December 1955. Garden feature.
Grand Stairs and Grotto, 50 Metres West of Shrubland Hall
- WRENN ID
- nether-panel-fen
- Grade
- II*
- Local Planning Authority
- Mid Suffolk
- Constituency
- Central Suffolk and North Ipswich MP: Patrick Spencer (Con)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 9 December 1955
- Type
- Garden feature
- OS grid reference
- TM 125 525
- Coordinates
- 52.13013, 1.10418
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The Grand Stairs and Grotto, located 50 meters west of Shrubland Hall, is a Grade II* listed structure built around 1850. It is part of the landscaping designed by Sir Charles Barry for Sir W.F. Middleton, Bart. The staircase connects The Balcony Garden to the Lower Panel Garden and is constructed from white limestone, inspired by the gardens at the Villa D'Este in Tivoli, Italy.
The main staircase consists of four straight flights, each featuring a bay on either side. The open balustrading has turned balusters and is adorned with a pair of vases at the top of each flight. Alongside each flight, there is a stone-lined channel with piers topped by terracotta urns. At the bottom of the fourth flight, the stairs split into two geometric flights, with the balustrading ending at urns decorated with swags on drum plinths.
A balcony at the top of the lowest flights overlooks a grotto at its base. This grotto features rusticated walling with an arched opening that has a mask-carved keystone and a pair of sunk panels with swags on either side. A stream is designed to flow from the grotto over natural rocks into a pool. Although there are a total of 115 steps, the feature is commonly referred to as "The 100 Steps." This structure is a significant element of what is regarded as the finest large 19th-century garden in Suffolk. The lower part of the staircase is situated in the Parish of Coddenham.
Local climate
Grand Stairs and Grotto, 50 Metres West of Shrubland Hall sits in one of the driest parts of the UK, with an average of 700 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 91% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 67% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 24 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 74% of listed buildings. Of these, 12 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.
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Similar buildings
The closest matches to this building from all 493,000 UK listed buildings, by architecture, period and materials.
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- 2 Vista Steps at Shrubland Hall
- 3 Balustrading and Steps Around Lawn Immediately South of Stowell Park House
- 4 Balustraded Upper Terrace to West of Condover Hall with Urns, Bastion Garden House and 2 Flights of Steps to Lower Terrace
- 5 Retaining wall, balustrade and steps between the flower and parterre gardens, Trentham Gardens
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- 1 and 2, Norwich Road
- Numbers 1 and 2 Laundry Cottages and Water Tower Attached at North End
- Laundry Cottages and Water Tower Attached at North End
- Vista Steps at Shrubland Hall