Wall, Basin, Gate Piers And Steps About 17 Metres East Of Stable Block

This structure consists of a wall, an attached water basin, gate piers, and steps, located about 17 metres east of the Stable Block at Dyrham Park. It dates from the late 18th century and is constructed from limestone ashlar and rubble with stone dressings, as well as pennant stone. The wall is approximately 50 metres long and 2 metres high, built in rubble with a stone coping. The north end ramps up to a small ashlar pier with a flat top and a moulded edge. At the north end, a rectangular retaining wall creates a large double basin, with pennant stone steps leading north, connecting the wall to the south elevation of the Orangery. To the south, there is a pair of square ashlar piers, each about 4 metres high, featuring a plinth and a flat top with a moulded edge; one of these piers is a 20th-century replica. Each pier is topped with a carved dog. These piers may be of an earlier date and were possibly relocated during Humphry Repton's visit to Dyrham in 1800. The water supply for the basin aligns with the cascade from William Blathwayt's garden, which dates from the late 17th and early 18th centuries.