Grotto, Craigiehall is a Grade B listed building in the City of Edinburgh local planning authority area, Scotland. First listed on 30 January 1981. Folly.
Grotto, Craigiehall
- WRENN ID
- half-postern-cobweb
- Grade
- B
- Local Planning Authority
- City of Edinburgh
- Constituency
- Edinburgh West MP: Christine Jardine (LD)
- Country
- Scotland
- Date first listed
- 30 January 1981
- Type
- Folly
- OS grid reference
- NT 170 752
- Coordinates
- 55.96291, -3.33058
- Source
- Historic Environment Scotland listing
Description
The Grotto at Craigiehall is a two-storey circular classical folly with a bath house in the lower section, located on the bank of the River Almond. It dates from around 1755-1760 and is built from random rubble featuring rough rustic masonry, square coping, and tooled ashlar dressings. An entrance on the northeast side includes a metal gate that leads to an internal stone staircase to the lower section. As of 2016, the structure is roofless, and part of the wall on the south side is no longer standing.
The upper section consists of a circular saloon with large window openings and a segmental-arched fireplace. There is also an infilled brick doorway and an oval statue niche on the west elevation. The lower section was not accessible for inspection in 2016.
Local climate
Grotto, Craigiehall receives an average of 920 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 70% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 52% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 41 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 79% of listed buildings. Of these, 21 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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