Rotunda or Grotto

Cadw's description

Location

Set into the hillslope below Cliff House with panoramic views accross the bay; accessed via steps and an arch from the main village road.

History

Portmeirion was designed and laid out by the celebrated architect Sir Clough Williams-Ellis (1883-1978) following his purchase of the estate, then called Aber Iâ, in 1926. The village evolved over several decades and was still being added to in the 1970s.

Built in 1954 as a grotto and viewing platform.

Exterior

A rounded structure designed as a lookout platform with grotto below. Of rendered brick and concrete with low slab-coped parapet walls. The building consists of a semi-circular, single storey flat-topped drum built into the hill side, with a viewing platform and parapet at roof level. A cast iron fluted column stands in the centre of the concrete platform with a surmounting metal astrolabe. There are arched entrances to the lower, grotto part, and 5 rectangular barred openings with outward splays.

Interior

The walls and ceiling of the interior are lined with scallop shells and conches, embedded in concrete. A slate bench on the hill side runs along the whole length. In the centre is a dolphin fountain of painted wood. Opposite are six rectangular niches squeezed in between the window openings.

Reason for designation

Listed as one of a number of buildings and structures designed by the eminent architect and conservationist Sir Clough Williams-Ellis for his visionary Portmeirion villiage.

Group value with other listed items at Portmeirion.