Gardens with enchanting grottoes to discover

Often designed to resemble natural caves, grottoes are enchanting architectural features that can be found in various gardens around the world. This selection of RHS Partner Gardens explores how grottoes have been incorporated into gardens for centuries, serving as symbols of wealth, artistic expression and sophistication but also providing cool retreats during summer months.

American Museum and Gardens, Somerset

The grotto at the American Museum and Gardens is a charming survival from Claverton Manor’s historic pleasure grounds. Set into a tall, south-east-facing retaining wall near the edge of the lawn, it takes the form of a stone-built niche with a basin and waterspout.

The feature dates from the 1830s and echoes the shape of a classical Roman nymphaeum. Its rustic stonework evokes the Regency fascination with Italian gardens and antiquity, while its setting reflects the period’s taste for picturesque garden structures and romanticised natural landscapes.

The present Claverton Manor, also designed with classical influences, was built for John Vivian in 1819–20. Much of the garden layout that survives today was developed by his son, George Vivian, an accomplished artist and traveller who inherited the estate in 1828. Features attributed to George include the grotto, constructed using local limestone, as well as the estate’s Italianate-style garden, fountains, balustrades and curtain walls.

Today, the grotto offers a fascinating insight into 19th-century landscape design. It forms part of the Grade II-listed gardens at the American Museum and Gardens, where Regency features sit alongside the Museum’s later American-inspired gardens, revealing the many layers of this special landscape’s history.

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Houghton Lodge Gardens, Hampshire

Although there are no written records of the grotto at Houghton Lodge, the cave is believed to have been constructed to alleviate the wave of unemployment that followed Britain’s victory at Waterloo in 1815 and the subsequent disbandment of many members of the Armed Forces to local villages. Its floor has a geometric pattern of terracotta, black and cream tiles. The gathering of flints, with which the walls and roof are built, would have been both fashionable and a productive form of land improvement at the time.

In the 19th century, a serpentine walk was created through the woodland and the grotto would have been enjoyed by walkers as a striking feature at its midpoint. When the Stockbridge to Houghton Road was relocated from the east to west side of Houghton Lodge, circa 1820, the grotto became a lockable gate between the gardens and the road.

More recently, the grotto has been used as the setting for wedding ceremonies and a sculpture exhibition and has appeared in a photoshoot for the clothing brand Jaeger. It is also home to many bats .

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Shuttleworth Swiss Garden, Bedfordshire

Interior of the grotto at Shuttleworth Swiss Garden

While the Swiss Garden was created by Lord Ongley in the 1820s, it was not until Joseph Shuttleworth purchased the Old Warden Estate in 1872 that a grotto was built to house the Shuttleworth family’s collection of ferns .

The beautiful cave-like interior is formed from Pulhamite, which creates a mystical, fairy-tale atmosphere. The doors at either end feature stained-glass designs depicting vases and leafy plants.

Until the 1970s, a rare Minton Peacock owned by the Shuttleworth family was displayed at the centre of the grotto. The precious ceramic art piece - one of only 12 sculptures produced - can now be admired at the exit of the Visitor Centre.

The grotto is home to many ferns, spider plants , Ipomoea , Tradescantia and wisteria , which fills the air with a beautiful scent in May. It is also a licenced venue for wedding ceremonies, with many couple choosing it as a more intimate wedding venue within the Swiss Garden.

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Hotel Endsleigh, Devon

The grotto at Hotel Endsleigh is one of the most distinctive features within the historic landscape created by architect Jeffry Wyatt and designer Humphry Repton in the early 1800s.

Built from stone and now covered with moss, it was originally intended as a cool retreat during the warmer months, offering a place to rest and take in views across the surrounding countryside. More than 200 years later, it continues to serve that purpose. Visitors enter through a doorway made from rustic timber and leaded glass, before stepping into an interior unlike any other on the estate. The walls are covered with an impressive collection of shells and minerals, carefully arranged to create a richly textured surface that reflects the popularity of ornamental grottos during the Picturesque period.

Water also plays an important role. A small pool gently bubbles inside the building before flowing away beneath the floor, providing a soft background sound and adding to the calm atmosphere.

The grotto remains a working part of the estate and is now licensed for wedding ceremonies, giving it a role that combines both its historic purpose and modern-day use.

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Thornbridge Estate Gardens, Derbyshire

Castellated grotto at Thornbridge Estate Gardens

Hidden within the gardens of the Thornbridge Estate are two secret grottoes waiting to be discovered. Designed by renowned landscape architect Simeon Marshall in the late 19th century for the owner, ’Lord’ George Marples, these enchanting features offer a glimpse into the Victorian love of ornamental garden design.

The first, known as Lover’s Grotto, is nestled among lush ferns and enjoys views across Koi Lake. It’s made from tufa, a naturally porous limestone widely used by Victorian garden designers to create rustic ornamental features. Found throughout the White Peak, tufa’s rugged texture and ability to support ferns and mosses made it an ideal material for garden grottoes and rockwork.

A short walk away, another grotto lies beneath a castellated viewing platform. An ancient blue wisteria climbs over the structure, draping it in a spectacular display of blooms each spring. In summer, it provides the perfect place to escape the heat while enjoying views of the Hall and Water Garden.

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Andalusia Historic House, Gardens and Arboretum, US

Grotto at Andalusia Historic House, Gardens and Arboretum

An example of romantic architecture amid the natural grandeur of mature trees and riverside vistas, the grotto at Andalusia Historic House, Gardens and Arboretum is among the property’s most distinctive structures.

It was constructed in the early 1830s by Thomas Ustick Walter, the distinguished architect who would later design the iconic dome of the US Capitol in Washington, DC, for residents Nicholas and Jane Biddle. Jane Biddle’s penchant for French culture likely influenced Walter’s Neo-Gothic approach, which can also be seen at the nearby cottage, completed later that decade.

The stone building offered a retreat favoured by female members of the family and their friends during the summer months. In contrast to the more severe Greek Revival style of Andalusia’s main mansion, its pointed arches, rough masonry and intentionally jagged profile bring a sense of charm and mystery to the site.

When first built, a marble statue of Napoleon - a gift to the Biddles from Joseph Bonaparte, brother of Napoleon I - greeted visitors from a niche above the doorway, but was later moved to the mansion library.

The last full-time residents of Andalusia passed away in the early 1970s and their sons chose to adapt the grotto into a memorial honouring the legacy of their parents and other ancestors who called the property home. That tradition continues today, with the names of eight generations of family members who have preserved and stewarded Andalusia now gracing the inner stone walls.