S t o w e  G a r d e n s

T h e  S h e l l  B r i d g e

The Shell Bridge was designed by William Kent around 1737, and was added to the mid-section of the Elysian Fields, to Dam the river's Alder and Styx. It is in effect not a bridge at all, but an ornate façade-cascade. It is decorated with 5 pediments, buttresses and arched bays, spanning the east and west sides of the riverbanks, that the water noisily gushes through. The shell bridge is similar to Kent's other design, found at Rousham House's Gardens in neighbouring Oxfordshire, his cascade at Venus's Vale.

Below: The east bank trail leads on to the Temple of British Worthies.

Below: An angled view of William Kent's Shell Bridge Dam.

 

 

 

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