Grotto is a Grade II listed building in the Buckinghamshire local planning authority area, England. First listed on 26 February 1985. Grotto.
Grotto
- WRENN ID
- muted-crypt-sunrise
- Grade
- II
- Local Planning Authority
- Buckinghamshire
- Constituency
- Mid Buckinghamshire MP: Greg Smith (Con)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 26 February 1985
- Type
- Grotto
- Address
- Grotto, Wotton Underwood
- OS grid reference
- SP 678 165
- Coordinates
- 51.84354, -1.01672
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The Grotto is a small structure located in Wotton House, built around 1757 to 1760 with 19th-century alterations. It is a feature of the landscape garden designed by Capability Brown. The grotto is constructed of brick and is partly covered by an earth mound. It has a square chamber with inner walls that are plastered and decorated with shells, fossils, quartz, and tufa. The original vault is missing. The front of the grotto was initially faced with stone, of which fragments still remain on site. Currently, the front features short curved flanking walls made of brick and faced with flint, likely from the 19th century. The grotto is situated on an island.
Local climate
Grotto sits in a drier-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 730 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 77% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 78% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 35 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 57% of listed buildings. Of these, 16 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
More on this building
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- No EPC on record for this property
- No sale records on file
- No related consent applications matched
- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- Flood risk assessment
- Radon risk assessment
- Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
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