The Flâneuse recently puzzled over this black and white photograph of a tall archway that is annotated ‘Breedon-on-the-Hill’. Internet searches using every combination of the village name with ‘arch’, ‘gate’ and ‘folly’, and as many other ideas as the Flâneuse could come up with, drew a complete blank. But driving into the village there it was, just to our right, and unchanged since the older photograph was taken.
A little way further along the wall from the gateway three letters are created from a patchwork of stone blocks near the entrance to a busy quarry. They abbreviate the former name of the works, the Breedon and Cloud Hill Lime Works Company: Breedon has been the site of quarrying and lime extraction since the eighteenth-century.
Aerial photographs of the quarry, taken in the middle of the twentieth century, show the gateway standing in what appears to be a bare plot, but it is still not immediately clear what purpose the arch serves.
Happily the excellent Breedon-on-the-Hill parish website has links to two volumes of pictorial history which explain that the ‘gateway’ was the centrepiece of a rockery, one of a number built by the owner of the quarry to beautify the village. By the late 1950s the village had become known for these rockery gardens of ‘artistic stonework’ which were planted with flowers and full of ‘vital colour’. According to the history, much of the rockwork was created freehand by Lawrence Wakefield, although the archway is not specifically attributed to him.
For much of the twentieth century the quarry was owned and/or managed by the Shields family. In 1959 Captain C.F. Shields, Managing Director of the works, told a reporter from the Leicester Evening Mail that providing good houses for workers, and ornamenting the village, was ‘making a return’ for ‘despoiling the rock that gives the village its name and character’. And of course the stonework was a great advertisement for the company’s products which included ‘rockery and grotto stone’.
Through the archway, which stands on the village’s Main Street, are steps leading up to the quarry offices, although sadly they now terminate in a ‘keep out’ sign.
If visiting Breedon-on-the-Hill don’t miss the village’s other attractions which include an eighteenth century lockup and the very pleasing War Memorial to those lost in the First and Second World Wars.
Take time to explore the church of St Mary and St Hardulph, which stands high above the village close to the quarry face (it is just out of shot in the aerial photo’ – it stands on the plateau above the quarry face on the right). As well as important Anglo-Saxon sculpture there are also fine tombs, including a vast monument to Sir George Shirley and his family, dated 1598, which features this intricate life-size memento mori.
Thank you for reading and do please get in touch if you know more about the arch, or would like to share any thoughts. The comments box can be found at the foot of the page.
P.S. A well-known landscape ornament has been in the news this week and deserves a mention. Beckford’s Tower, near Bath, won the Award for Restoration of a Georgian Building in a Landscape at the Georgian Group Architectural Awards 2025. Congratulations to all the team at the Bath Preservation Trust
Gand says:
This proves that the 3 Ws are not always the answer to a puzzle. Sometimes tyres on tarmac is required to flesh out the story.
WelI done Flaneuse for this excellent tale.
Editor says:
Good morning Gand. Exactly. The internet is an amazing resource, I simply couldn’t do what I do without it, but nothing beats the joy of spotting one’s quarry (pun intended) after walking round in circles for ages. Although in this case there was no hunt – it was the first thing we saw! Thanks for the kind words.
Ashley says:
This was an attractive find. It gives quite a seaside feel to this inland location. Thank you as always.
Editor says:
Hello Ashley and thank you. Yes, a lovely find and with such an interesting story behind it.
TOM GARDNER says:
TOM (NYC)
ONCE AGAIN, OVER SAT. MORNING COFFEE, YOUR ‘OFFERING’ WAS A MOST ENLIGHTENING, ENJOYABLE – READ.
THIS PARTICULAR ‘FOLLY’ MADE ME REALISE THAT WE TOO, (AMERICANS) HAVE A MOST WONDERFUL ‘FOLLY’ TO SHARE WITH YOUR READERS.
THE FOLLY IS LOCATED IN FLORIDA, IN THE ‘TOWN’ OF HOMESTEAD. HOMESTEAD IS LOCATED SOUTH OF MIAMI … ON THE WAY TO ‘KEY WEST’.
IT WAS BUILT BY: *** ONE *** MAN *** ALONE !
SIMPLY GOOGLE: ‘CORAL CASTLE’ (HOMESTEAD, FLORIDA – TO VIEW)
THEN ENJOY THE THREE MINUTE – AMAZING – VIDIO.
HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND.
TOM
Editor says:
Hello Tom. Well! I think Coral Castle is on a slightly larger scale than the ‘gateway’, but I can certainly see the similarities. Thanks for leading me to this amazing place.
Gwyn Gwyn Headley says:
What a cracking find!
Editor says:
Hello Gwyn. A fair share of the credit must go to Neville Hawkes for recording it all those years ago, but it was great fun trying to identify it and find out more. Always good to add to the list of wonderful architectural oddities.
Moira Garland says:
I’ll just echo that first comment. It’s kind of gratifying that the web is not all-encompassing, even if more fossil fuel (I assume) has to be employed in finding this arch. Once again you’ve given us a great story to read, including the methods involved in finding it. The church and surroundings sound fascinating too. My vicarious way to travel these days. Thank you again.
Editor says:
Good evening Moira. I do have to drive to see follies, but I always have a carefully planned schedule so that each excursion packs in as many sites (and sights) as possible. I hope you continue to enjoy my travels and my finds and thank you for your comment.
Barbara Ann Howard says:
The Gateway looks as creepy as I felt when I drove up to the church from the A42 one day. I found the place extremely unsettling. I couldn’t even get out of the car.
Barbara
Editor says:
Hello Barbara. The gateway isn’t at all creepy – it’s on the Main Street and is quite friendly. I can see how you felt the way you did about the church. Its position is so lonely on the hill with the quarry face dropping away dramatically. But I enjoyed exploring inside and out – the sculpture and monuments are wonderful