The Rock

The Rock is a folly built in 1795 by John Foss of Richmond for the D'Arcy Hutton family. It is constructed from coursed rubble sandstone and features a two-storey circular tower that is enclosed by an octagonal single-storey base. The base, which contained the staircase, is now partly collapsed. Originally, each side of the base had a blind pointed-arched window with rusticated voussoirs and a battlemented parapet, all of which are now missing. The tower has four pointed-arched openings with matching voussoirs, and there is a similar stone treatment just below the eaves band, along with a water-spout on the south-west side. The side walls, which are also partly collapsed, had pointed-arched openings, with one surviving in the north wall, and a battlemented parapet that is now gone. Inside, the upper room features ashlar and a saucer dome, with "RDH 1797" inscribed on the lintel above the north-east window.