Running until September, the University of Bristol is inviting people to learn of the rich heritage in the city’s most famous hidden garden.
The urban gem, nestled behind Goldney House, in Clifton Wood, boasts an ornamental Grotto, site of the original flag garden, Hercules, the Rotunda, the Bastion, the Tower and a Canal and Heritage Orchard.
The Grotto, believed to be one of the finest surviving examples of an eighteenth-century grotto in Britain, is highly decorated inside with rare, exotic shells, Bristol Diamonds (quartz), minerals with a pillared hall, a rock pool overlooked by a River God and a Lion’s Den. Built over 27 years and ornately decorated, it consists of several chambers, divided by pillars bejewelled with minerals, rocks and shells. The central chamber houses a life size lion with a lioness sitting in a den behind. The River God is seated at the end of a chamber overlooking a cascaded pool with giant clams.
James Fiddock, Head of Gardens & Grounds, said: “External Estates are proud to present the Specialist Garden History tours for 2022 and welcome visitors to this magnificent garden in the heart of our city.”
There will be no access to Goldney House.