563

 

II*  

Designated  

02/04/1987  

30/04/2001  

Grotto adjoining Folly Tower at Talacre Abbey  

 

Flintshire  

Llanasa  

 

Talacre  

310510  

383330  

 

In woodland on the SE side of the house, and S of the Folly Tower.  

Gardens, Parks and Urban Spaces  

 

Talacre Abbey was built 1824-9 by Thomas Jones, architect, for Sir Edward Mostyn, on the site of an earlier house. The grotto was added to the gardens in final quarter of the C19 and is first shown on the 1899 Ordnance Survey. The adjacent folly tower is earlier, built in the third quarter of the C19.  

Built partly into the natural rock, and partly using rubble and mortar to create a rock-cut appearance. The grotto has 3 well-hewn entrances, while its interior has a central chamber open to the sky, and passages with niches, carved seats and a number of carved grotesque figures in the walls. The chief of these is inside the lower entrance, and comprises a heraldic lion (representing the Mostyn family) with its mouth open, and openings at its back for lighting fires that would send flames and smoke from the lion's mouth.  

 

Listed grade II* as an especially notable example of a Romantic grotto retaining original grotesque carvings, and as an important component of the pleasure grounds at Talacre Abbey.