Building record 0420802012 - SHELL BRIDGE and former site of Captain Cook's Monument, Elysian Fields, Stowe Landscape Gardens
Summary
Protected Status/Designation
- Listed Building (I) 1211939: THE SHELL BRIDGE AND CAPTAIN COOK'S MONUMENT
- SHINE: Stowe medieval to post medieval landscape garden, medieval deserted villages of Lamport & Boycott, shrunken village of Daford, also moats, manors and fishponds, ridge and furrow earthworks & cropmarks, and areas of ancient semi natural woodland
Map
Type and Period (2)
- DAM (Built about 1740, 18th Century - 1700 AD to 1799 AD)
- (Former Type) COMMEMORATIVE MONUMENT (Dated 1778, 18th Century to Modern - 1778 AD to 1990 AD)
Description
Grade I. A dam in the Elysian Fields, disguised as a low bridge. c1740 by Kent. Stone dressings, rendering encrusted with shells. Five bays with low arches, central bay projecting and pedimented, 2 smaller pediments each side above piers. Captain Cook's Monument, standing on the bridge, is a small monument with portrait medallion dated 1778 (B14).
(Note: Cook's Monument see CAS 0420802043 - monument removed in late 1990s for eventual re-siting on Duck Island)
The National Trust's Survey of Stowe undertaken in 1989 noted that the south front is encrusted with conch shells and that the overflow from the upper lake originally ran through channels in the centre and on either side creating a cascade. The abutments on either side may have supported a wooden footbridge giving views of the fake meander in the Styx and Worthies river (B18).
Sources (2)
- ---SBC17422 Aerial Photograph: 04/09/76. BCM A2/11/20-22. SP\674376. Yes.
- <14>SBC3681 Bibliographic reference: DoE. 1983. List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest. p27.
Location
| Grid reference | SP 67737 37340 (point) |
|---|---|
| Civil Parish | STOWE, Aylesbury Vale, Buckinghamshire |
Finds (0)
Related Monuments/Buildings (2)
Related Events/Activities (1)
- Event - Survey: Site visit (EBC13583)
Record last edited
Aug 25 2009 11:43AM
