Entrance Gates And Screen Across East Front Of Wotton House, With Gazebo And Walls To Pavilions

The entrance gates, screen, and gazebo at Wotton House date from the early 18th century. While it has been suggested that the ironwork was created by Thomas Robinson, it may more likely be attributed to Jean Montigny. The screen in front of the forecourt features ashlar dwarf walls and piers, along with wrought iron railings. The central section bows to the east and is flanked by curved walls that lead to a group of three wrought iron gates. Low ashlar walls connect the screen to the Clock and South Pavilions, and these walls and dwarf walls display moulded panels, broad pilasters, and moulded bases and cornices.

There are eight tall square piers that have similar decorative elements, including finely carved stone urn finials and side pilasters topped with elaborate carved scrolls. The railings consist of standard panels adorned with scroll ornament and crests. The central carriage gates feature a scrolled frieze and crest above them. Narrow pedestrian gates, which have semi-circular heads with radiating ornament, are set between railings with a similar decorative overthrow.

The screen continues in front of the Pavilions as a brick wall with ashlar coping, with the northern part featuring wrought iron railings. Attached to the northern end, in the garden of the Clock Pavilion, is a small gazebo made of brick with stone quoins, a coved wooden cornice, and a flat roof. It has a two-panelled door set in a moulded stone architrave with a cornice, and a louvred window with a segmental head. This screen is a significant element of the formal composition of Wotton House.