Boathouse And Covered Bridge At Longleat House

The boathouse with a covered bridge at Longleat House was built around 1807 by Jeffry Wyatville for the 2nd Marquess of Bath. It features limestone ashlar construction and a Welsh slate hipped roof. The structure includes a segmental moulded archway leading to a wet dock, with a covered bridge above that has a balustraded parapet and a glazed round-arched opening. There are fixed six-pane windows on either side and a strapwork panel above, flanked by Doric pilasters that support an entablature and a blocking course with corner urns. Double-glazed doors with Doric pilasters open onto the bridge.

On either side of the bridge, the boathouse has ashlar-faced walls, with a blind architrave on the right and a studded door on the left that leads into the boathouse. The rear of the boathouse features a partly enclosed wet dock, while the front is open with a trellis and a semi-circular parapet at the edge of the wet dock. The left return of the structure is also ashlar faced with a corniced blocking course.

Inside the bridge, there is a stone floor, a large round-arched recess flanked by square-headed recesses, strapwork panels, and a plaster ceiling adorned with rosettes. This building is part of Wyatville's additions and improvements to the park's buildings, with Humphry Repton also contributing to the landscaping by deepening Half Mile Pond and creating the island.