The Grotto At Bowden Park

The Grotto at Bowden Park is a grotto and summerhouse built around 1800. It is constructed from cyclopean ironstone random rocks and features a concealed stone slate roof. The central circular summerhouse has a three-sided canted front made of cyclopean masonry, with wings of rockwork on either side that include various small grottoes. The right wing contains an entry to a serpentine tunnel that emerges behind the structure.

The summerhouse is adorned with three pointed-arched doorways that have lattice-glazed double doors and Y-tracery overlights. Inside, the grotto-work is unusually elaborate and complete, with walls and a vault lined with tufa, fossils, and shells. The vault also features pendants that resemble stalactites, and the floor is patterned with tiles. The stonework of The Grotto has similarities to the cascade at Bowood House, which was built between 1785 and 1787 by Hon. C. Hamilton and constructed by J. Lane of Tisbury.