Grotto including steps and south boundary wall at 6 Monk's Walk, Reigate

The grotto, steps, and south boundary wall at 6 Monk's Walk, Reigate, date from the 18th century. It is constructed of brick and incorporates a semi-subterranean, north-facing circular chamber set into an embankment. The chamber has retaining walls, approached by shallow steps.

The exterior of the grotto is largely covered with clinker material, including glass, pottery, and iron slag, along with crystals and shells. A round-headed entrance, showing traces of a door frame, leads into the chamber. Symmetrical curved retaining walls flank the entrance, constructed of Flemish and header bond brick, topped with curved parapets. The west retaining wall is unbonded. The grotto is built into a brick embankment, which forms a raised walkway and a boundary wall; this serves as the south boundary wall of 6 Monk’s Walk and originally marked the southern boundary of Little Doods. A shallow dip is present in the parapet of the boundary wall, allowing a southward view. The north-facing side of the boundary wall is approximately six feet high, exhibiting occasional vitrified headers, and has been re-pointed in the 20th century. The south-facing side is approximately eight feet high, featuring a projecting plinth and Flemish bond brickwork, also with 20th-century re-pointing. The group value of this feature lies in its picturesque and ornamental quality.

Inside the circular chamber, the originally brick and lime-washed walls are lined with clinker, including glass, pottery, and iron slag, as well as crystals, conch, and oyster shell decoration, all bound with mortar of various periods. Niches are incorporated into the south wall, containing lead piping and shallow basins that once supplied water to the upper niches.