Grotto And Ruin In Fawley Court Grounds

The Grotto and Ruin in Fawley Court Grounds is a garden folly built in the mid-18th century by John Freeman of Fawley Court. Constructed from flint with some stone dressings and topped with a tiled roof over the dome, the structure features a west end with a projecting passage that has a 14th-century moulded pointed arch at its entrance, along with a roundel above decorated with egg and dart moulding. Behind this passage stands a high wall with a ruinous outline, which includes a reused three-light Perpendicular window and two moulded stone corbels.

On the left side of the passage, there is an arched niche, while the right side contains a small closet with remnants of arched shelves. The grotto itself has a wide semi-circular arch with flanking roundels to the north and a massive rusticated rectangular doorway made of knapped flint with a pediment to the south. To the left of the doorway is a brick arch supported by flint imposts and a keyblock, and to the right is another roundel.

Inside, the grotto features a fine dome made of flint, adorned with ornamental ribs and a frieze of knuckle bones. The entrances are now fitted with metal grills added in 1984. Originally, this folly housed part of John Freeman's collection of the Arundel marbles, which included a fragment of the Pergamon altar.