The Grotto and Cascade at Compton Castle

Early-C19 grotto and cascade, restored and extended in the late C20.

Materials: roughly-hewn Hamstone boulders to the exterior; random rubble construction to the internal walls.

PLAN: a three-tier structure which has a roughly L-shaped plan, with the main part spanning the south end of pond, and a shorter, lower section at right angles along the western bank of the lake. It is located at the head of the valley, at the south end of a series of three fishponds with three associated lower cascades, which feed into the lake to the north.

DESCRIPTION: the outward, north face of the GROTTO is arranged as three tiers of stepped rockwork. Each tier contains an open-galleried walkway, with piers formed from monoliths, or from a number of smaller stones placed on top of one another. The walkways provide views of the gardens and give access to numerous small chambers with openings between them. Some of these chambers have stone seats, and there are small niches which may have originally contained candles. One large chamber to the west contains a rectangular plunge pool. The roof of this chamber forms a dome with rough pendant rocks, possibly suggesting stalactites. A number of stairways lead between the different levels of the structure. To the south, or rear, of the grotto, the ground level is higher and a low revetment of large stones forms the south part of the structure. To the south-west corner is the entrance to a grotto tunnel.

To the north face of the grotto, at the east end, is a CASCADE which runs from the second tier down a rock channel containing uneven stone steps, to the pond below. There may originally have been further cascades to the north face of the grotto, but if so, these are no longer evident.

We have considered whether powers of exclusion under s.1 (5A) of the 1990 Act are appropriate and consider that they are not.