About The Grotto

The Grotto is a magnificent Georgian mansion house and country estate, set in 8.6 acres of rolling parkland and landscaped gardens with over 400 metres of exclusive frontage on the river Thames in rural Berkshire.

Built in 1720 by Viscount Fane for his wife Mary, The Grotto was designed as a fashionable lady’s riverside retreat for her leisure and recreation. Its Capability Brown inspired parkland and gardens cascading down to the river’s edge make a striking and evocative architectural statement. Jerome K Jerome was so taken with the view of the Grotto from the Thames that he described it in his 1889 work, Three Men in a Boat, as ‘a most glorious setting’.

After three centuries evolving to meet the needs of those generations fortunate to have made it their home or place of work, this unique estate is now about to enter an exciting new era. Imaginative plans have been approved for the sensitive creation of a twenty first century interpretation of a rural retreat for leisure and pleasure, yet within easy reach of central London and Heathrow Airport. Comprising a small, luxury hotel, with eco-lodges in the woodland, a spa and wellness centre, restaurant and exclusive club, as well as two detached private residences The Grotto will once again be an amazing place to visit and, for a privileged few, a unique place to live.