Grotto And Entrances Flanking And Below Road About 50 Metres North East Of Brockley Hall

The grotto and entrances, dating from around 1800, are located about fifty metres north-east of Brockley Hall. Constructed from rubble with dashed stucco and freestone, the grotto serves as a tunnel that connects the main garden to a decorative walled garden. A winding ramp descends between dry stone walls, flanked at ground level by a pair of sphynxes. The entrance features a segmental arch tunnel accessed through a double arch, above which is a plaque with a Latin inscription that translates to a welcoming message for visitors.

Inside the tunnel, remnants of stucco mixed with quartz chips can still be seen. There are three segmental-headed niches; two are empty, while one holds a somewhat damaged odalisque. At the far end of the tunnel, 14 steps rise in a dog-leg configuration between dry stone walls. This grotto is a surviving fragment of a larger collection of statuary and garden ornaments that once decorated the Smyth-Piggott estate at Brockley Hall, which functioned more as an art repository than as a residence.