The Thornton Hall estate came into the possession of Thomas Sheppard after his marriage to the heiress Elizabeth Cotton in 1774. Sheppard considered the church of St Michael and All Angels, close to the hall, to be outdated and cluttered. As part of a major restoration he dismantled an ancient tomb, with the ornate side panels becoming features of a grotto in a sequestered spot in the gardens.

The church had been home to the ancient tomb of the Ingylton family, described in the 1755 county history of Buckinghamshire by Browne Willis as a ‘very handsome Altar Tomb of Stone’, for centuries. The tomb featured reliefs of Ingylton himself (he died in 1472) accompanied by his three wives, six sons and ten daughters.

In 1783 Sheppard (1741-1821) asked permission to demolish parts of the church and rebuild it in a ‘more regular and commodious’ manner. This he did out of a ‘pious and charitable disposition’, and at his own expense, with the ‘unanimous consent’ of the Rector and parishioners. A faculty was granted to allow the work to proceed. Sadly there is no mention of the tomb in the legal papers, and the plan shown to the Archdeacon does not seem to survive, but it would seem likely that the tomb was moved around the same date.

In 1801 it was recorded in The Gentleman’s Magazine that the church had been ‘repaired and beautified’ and was now a ‘neat uniform building’. In 1806 Daniel Lysons wrote in Magna Britannia that the church had been ‘neatly and commodiously fitted up’, but he thought that ‘the antiquary will regret the removal of the ancient monuments’.  At that date all that was left of the Ingylton tomb were the brass figures of Ingylton and his family that had decorated the top of the tomb. These were now set into the floor of the church, and Lysons thought that the ‘remarkably fine’ effigies would soon suffer wear.

Neither of these early histories records that the ornate carved slabs, which formed the sides of the tomb, had by that date been carted to a corner of his grounds where they became features of a building known as the ‘Grotto’.

Thornton Hall was remodelled by Sheppard’s descendants in the first years of the 1850s, and remained with the family until towards the end of that century. It passed through further owners until in 1917 it was purchased for use as a convent school for girls. On occasions Benediction was given from an altar in a shrine in ‘one of the loveliest settings’, but it is impossible to be certain that this was the grotto.

It was not until the later years of the 1940s that antiquarians from the Buckinghamshire Archaeological Society set out in search of the lost tomb. They had been alerted to its presence by Major Henry Owen Evans (1898-1966), an authority on monumental brasses. On Boxing Day 1945 he visited the church to see the brass from the Ingylton tomb and locate the ‘grotto’ where the rest of the tomb was reputed to be found.

Intrigued, the formidable Miss Cicely Baker (1900-1980), stalwart of the archaeological society, made her own arrangements to visit. Accompanied by one of the order, she and a friend waded though ‘yards of nettles’ to find the ‘summer-house’. Her bare-legged companion ‘suffered agonies in the name of archaeology’, whilst the nun simply strode through in her long habit.

The grotto was found to be ‘semi-ruinous’ and it was decided that the tomb must be returned to the church. Miss Baker was worried that ‘an army of Bishops’ would be required to gain permission, but things moved quickly and, with the Mother Superior at Thornton College amenable to the plan, the Bucks Archaeological Society launched an appeal for funds. Thanks to the Morris Fund of the Society of Antiquaries meeting the entire costs of around £70, the restoration was carried out under the superintendence of the archaeologist and writer E. Clive Rouse (1901-1997). By the end of 1948 the work was finished ‘with complete success and spectacular effect’.

With the ancient tomb the focus of their efforts, no-one seems to have been troubled by what might happen to the already deteriorating grotto, which was presumably further weakened by the removal of the carved slabs. The photograph at the top of the page accompanied an article in Follies, the magazine of the Folly Fellowship, more than thirty years ago in 1991. At that date the author, Tom Sargant, recorded that the grotto was ‘unloved and falling slowly into the bushes’. The roof of the semi-circular room at the back of the grotto, which was originally topped with a pinnacle ‘like a witch’s hat’ had collapsed (when Miss Baker visited she thought that this curious design was a sure sign that this was a folly, or ‘somebody’s whim’).

It is heartening to report that the grotto, protected within the grounds of the school, has not suffered from further degradation, and remains much as it did in 1991 – although action is needed to secure it for the future.

There is no public access to the grounds of Thornton College, but the church of St Michael and All Angels is now vested in the Churches Conservation Trust and can be visited.

Thanks to the team at Thornton College for their help with this post. The Flâneuse also acknowledges the work of the Milton Keynes Heritage Association, whose website pointed her in the right direction.

Your comments are always welcome, and you can get in touch via the comments box at the foot of the page. Thank you for reading.

High above the town of Buxton, in Derbyshire, stands a squat circular belvedere known as Grinlow Tower, after the hill on which it stands, or, more usually, as Solomon’s Temple. It was built by public subscription in 1896, replacing an earlier structure that had collapsed. But as is so often the case with folly towers, sorting the fact from the fiction is quite a challenge.

The first tower on the site is said to have been built by one Solomon Mycock. Some accounts state he was a local farmer who built the tower in 1840, and others that the folly was erected in around 1800 when he was the landlord of the Cheshire Cheese Inn, and that he had it built to alleviate unemployment in the area. The census returns show that Solomon Mycock, born in 1788, was both an innkeeper and a farmer so there is some substance to the stories. But Solomon rented the land on which the tower stood, and thus it acquired its biblical nickname, but the actual builder lived just down the road at Chatsworth: in his Gem of the Peak, published in 1838, William Adam described the tower as ‘lately built by the order of the Duke of Devonshire’. The Duke’s motive was probably the philanthropic one attributed to Mycock – providing work for local men.

In around 1846 the self-styled ‘Wandering Poet’, James Bannard, wrote Views and Reflections taken from Solomon’s Temple, in which he admired the panoramic view from the tower:

To Solomon’s Temple I repaired,
To take a wider view;
And as I was a stranger there,
All things appeared new.

Built of ‘loose stones’, the tower soon deteriorated, and by the 1890s all that was left was a pile of rubble. The hilltop site, with its extensive views, was still a popular destination, and visitors were able to picnic in a tent erected by Mr Turner, who would collect your hamper and deliver it to the summit. Towards the end of the 19th century the great and the good of Buxton began to plan a more permanent shelter for the townsfolk and tourists.

In February 1894 a committee was formed, and at the first meeting it was unanimously resolved ‘that it is desirable to restore Solomon’s Temple’ (although the ‘restoration’ would in fact be a totally new building). Two local architects submitted plans: W.R. Bryden and his former pupil George Edwin Garlick (1863-1935). It was Garlick’s design for a round tower that could be built for less than £100 that was favoured by the committee, although it was later tweaked. The tower was designed as a shelter and belvedere, with a rooftop viewing platform and flagpole.

An appeal was launched, asking for funds to help ‘make the prominent land-mark worthy of its name’. The 8th Duke of Devonshire set the appeal in motion with a pledge of £25, and donations of various sizes were made by the people and businesses of Buxton. Garlick’s design was displayed in the various banks in town, to encourage donations, and a flyer was distributed encouraging ‘everyone interested in making the surroundings of Buxton more attractive’ to support the campaign. A fund-raising concert was held in the town hall, and by May 1896 sufficient money was available for work to start, and Mr A. Wild was awarded the contract to build the tower.

Meanwhile, the Duke of Devonshire had given permission for local archaeologist Micah Salt (1847-1915) and his son to investigate the site. Their dig confirmed that the tower stood on a barrow, a Bronze Age burial site, and human remains and grave goods were discovered. Salt was an amateur archaeologist (as were most antiquarians at this date) but unusually he was a tailor, rather than the usual leisured clergyman or squire. Although some were a little sniffy (one account called him ‘an intelligent tradesman’), the Salts were respected by the Society of Antiquaries. Their findings were reported in the society’s journal, where they were described as having ‘rendered great service to local archaeology in their excavations’. The antiquities they found at Grinlow, and other Buxton barrows, were displayed to the Fellows of the society in December 1896.

The foundation stone was laid by Col Sidebottom M.P. at the beginning of June 1896, and by September the work was complete and Victor Cavendish M.P., representing the Duke of Devonshire, declared the tower open. The weather was not kind on the opening day, and it was a sometimes undignified walk in the slippery mud to the summit, but in his speech Cavendish hoped that future visitors would enjoy better weather, and that their health might benefit from the ‘invigorating’ air. He praised the tower as an excellent addition to the attractions which Buxton could offer.

The committee tried hard to encourage the locals to call the building the ‘Grinlow Tower’, instead of the ‘common but misleading title Solomon’s Temple now in vogue’, but with limited success, and it remains better known as the latter today.

The tower was hugely popular, and was recreated as one of the crested china ornaments that were so in fashion at the time, as well as featuring on countless picture postcards, including one with a fascinating history. W. Reginald Bray became known as the ‘Autograph King’ on account of his mania for sending postcards to all manner of people, asking them to return the card duly autographed. In 1909 he took an interest in Solomon’s Tower, and the card tells the story:

With the outbreak of the Second World War there were some who thought the tower might be a guide to enemy aircraft. Others disagreed, pointing out that Buxton was home to many more significant landmarks such as John Carr’s 18th century Crescent and the vast dome of the Devonshire Hospital. The little tower was reprieved, and (somewhat ironically) was painted by Karl Hagedorn in 1940 as part of the Recording Britain project, which sought to celebrate Britain’s architecture and countryside at a time of low morale.

Possibly the most curious incident in the life of the folly was featured in a newspaper in 1933. So odd is the report that the Folly Flâneuse had to double-check the paper was not dated April the First. ‘During Whitsuntide’, a reporter from the Nottingham Journal interviewed two Americans, who refused to give their names, but who had come to Buxton with the ‘express purpose of buying the Temple and taking it back to their country to erect there’. Clearly their mission failed, and they must have sailed home empty-handed.

Almost from the start the tower was subject to the usual mindless vandalism. Over time the door was knocked in, the walls covered in graffiti, the windows smashed (those on the upper level have long been blocked up), and the flagpole torn down. In 1987 the Buxton Civic Association led a restoration project with the comedian Tim Brooke-Taylor, who grew up in the town, leading the fundraising campaign. The grade II listed tower remains a popular destination for locals and tourists to the spa town.

Thanks to Ros Westwood, Buxton Museum, for her help with this post.

For walks and access see https://poolescavern.co.uk/woodland-walks/solomons-temple/

For more on W. Reginald Bray, the ‘Autograph King’, who even ‘posted’ himself on occasions, see this fascinating website http://www.wrbray.org.uk

Some of Salt’s finds can be seen in the excellent Wonders of the Peak display at Buxton Museum and Art Gallery https://www.derbyshire.gov.uk/leisure/buxton-museum/buxton-museum-and-art-gallery.aspx

For more follies painted for the Recording Britain project see https://thefollyflaneuse.com/recording-britain/

Thank you for reading. If you have any thoughts, or can share further information, please scroll down to the comments box.