The Grotto, Piercefield

Cadw's description

Summary description and reason for designation

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Ancient Monument.

The monument consists of a grotto dating to the 18th century and is one of the principal structural features of the Piercefield Walk. The grotto is a shady cavern built as a garden feature. In the 18th century it usually took the form of an artificial rocky cave or apartment decorated with stalactites and shells in a wild part of the grounds. The grotto gives spectacular views across the Wye Valley and is a small domed alcove built of brick on a stone foundation. The interior walls display the remnants of the rough mixture of iron and copper slag as well as quartz bedded in a fine white mortar with which it was once coated. The grotto was built within the defenses of a small Iron Age hillfort.

The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of the use of gardens, parks and urban spaces in the 18th and 19th century. It retains significant archaeological potential, with a strong probability of the presence of associated archaeological features and deposits.

The scheduled area comprises the remains described and areas around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive.