Explore Scott's Grotto

Welcome to this virtual tour of Scott’s Grotto which is set within the last remaining part of John Scott’s Garden. The Grotto and Summerhouse are located in the south western corner of the garden now on the west side of Scotts Road.

The Scott family, who were wealthy Quakers, moved from Bermondsey to Ware in 1740 to Amwell House which John’s father Samuel had purchased some eighteen years previously. The whole estate comprised some 27 acres at that time. Over some years Samuel carried out a major extension to the original red brick building extending both the ground floor and adding a first floor and servant’s quarters above.

John Scott was Samuel’s youngest son. He is mainly remembered today for his poetry but in his time he was a commentator on and influencer of political policy. He was an outspoken critic of the Poor Law, wrote political pamphlets and was an important figure in the Turnpike movement.

In the 1760’s, John Scott, landscaped the grounds of Amwell House to create a formal ‘rococo’ garden of over 6 acres with many summerhouses, rustic seats and ‘piles of stones’. Its culmination was the Grotto, cut into the chalk hillside very much the fashion of the time, the design probably in imitation of Alexander Pope’s grotto at Twickenham. It is believed that construction of the Grotto was started around 1761 and there is evidence to suggest that Scott was still adding to it in 1766.

Little is known about the layout of the garden in Scott’s time as only later plans exist. The one shown is based on the 10 ft. to the mile map of 1851 in Hertfordshire Archives and Local Studies, the location of the Grotto is outlined in red. The parallel lines on the left were drawn in after1863 to show the location of the new Scotts Road.

The land has been sold off gradually for housing but the Grotto and Summerhouse, together with some of the land has been retained, although in the 1960’s there were plans to build two houses on the site. The Grotto is now Grade I listed so secure from further development.

Click on the arrows to take a tour of the Grotto. The room names that you will see are later additions given by Mr. R. T. Andrews of the East Hertfordshire Archaeological Society when he carried out a survey of the Grotto in the late Victorian era, we shall never know how John Scott referred to them.

We gratefully acknowledge the use of the above historical facts and in particular the drawing of the garden all of which are taken from the book Scott of Amwell, Dr Johnson’s Quaker Critic by David Perman (available at Ware Museum).