S t o w e  G a r d e n s

T h e  G r o t t o

The gravel path following the Western bank from the Grenville Monument leads the visitor finally, to the Grotto at the head of the River Alder.

Begun around 1741 by William Kent, who was also responsible for most of the other features in the Elysian Fields, the Grotto at Stowe was not surrounded by the landscaping and foliage we see in its present form, instead it had 2 Rotunda neighbours, one being decorated with pebbles, the other with shells. Inside the grotto, in the main chamber with the arch overlooking the River Alder, was a fine statue of Venus arising from her bath, with water cascading into a pool before her. This was very similar to the Grotto at Stourhead in Wiltshire, and the statue of Ariadne, the sleeping nymph of the grot, laying on her marble plinth, also with water cascading before her that we can still see today. Like Stourhead, there was a plaque before the statue with a poem, but this time from Milton:

"Goddess of the silver wave, to thy thick embower'd cave, to arch-ed walks, and twilight groves, and shadows brown, which Sylvan loves, when the sun begins to fling his flaring beams, me, Goddess, bring."

The grotto underwent many changes from 1742 - 1755. The Rotundas disappeared, huge amounts of earth were excavated and built up and around and on top of the grotto, making it now an underground building. The interior was decorated with shells and glass to make the light dance around the walls, and the exterior was roughened and decorated with tufa.

The Stowe guide explains that the Grotto was the venue for a very damp, al-fresco party for Princess Amelia Sophia in 1770. One of the guests, Horace Walpole was famously reported to demand a glass of cherry brandy to ward off his lumbago.

By the 1780's the interior was resculpted and lined with tufa to perhaps create a romantic setting.

Today the Statue of Venus and her bath have long since disappeared, and the entrance to the grotto is firmly sealed with an iron gate.

 

 

 

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