Summerhouse At Alkerton Grange

The summerhouse at Alkerton Grange is a small gazebo built in the early 18th century. Constructed of brick with stone dressings, its roof is not visible. This small square structure features a basement and a raised ground floor in a Baroque style. The front showcases Ionic pilasters at ground level, interrupted by a stone cornice that marks the change in floors, along with a central doorcase flanked by pilasters and topped with a broken segmental pediment. The main cornice extends forward over the end and door pilasters.

Above, there is a central attic storey with a parapet that rises on each side, adorned with decorative stone urns at the front corners. The attic features relief carved pilasters and a broken segmental pediment that includes a large grotesque head at its center. The doorcase contains an original half-glazed door with the lower two panels fielded, flanked by 8-pane sash windows featuring splayed brick voussoirs, a stone keystone, and a moulded stone architrave. Similar 12-pane sashes are present on the other three sides, with the rear windows blocked.

The rear corners have small ashlar flues, with a fireplace located in the right-hand rear corner. The other corner contains a shell niche cupboard decorated with original painted grotesques and classical ornamentation. Inside, the summerhouse boasts high-quality oak panelling that remains unpainted. A flight of ten splayed moulded stone steps leads up to the door, supported by iron cramps and twisted iron handrails. There is a cambered head archway to the basement on the right-hand return, accessed by descending four stone steps. Notably, the right-hand front corner was beginning to crack badly at the time of the survey in December 1985.