Stone Shelter With Seat To East Of Sunken Garden At Westonbirt House

The stone shelter with a seat located to the east of the sunken garden at Westonbirt House is a large ornamental structure dating from around the 1860s, possibly designed by Lewis Vulliamy. It features an overhanging cornice adorned with small shell niche patterns and a moulded ceiling decorated with roundels and carved cones that create a fan vaulting effect. This ceiling is supported on the sides of the seat by large, elaborate stone scrolls. The rear of the shelter has three arched shallow recesses decorated with fired clay, and the floor is covered with decorative tiles. Low moulded walls extend out in two quadrants, with a similar short wall opposite, situated at the edge of the sunken garden to the west, which contains a round pool and a bronze statue of Mercury at its center.