Scheduled Monument: Rushton Triangular Lodge: an Elizabethan warrener's lodge and rabbit warren (1013826)

DESCRIPTION OF THE MONUMENT The monument includes Rushton Triangular Lodge, a warrener's lodge built in the years 1594-7 by Sir Thomas Tresham. As a recusant, Tresham was repeatedly fined and imprisoned, and he devised the Triangular Lodge as an architectural expression of his commitment to Roman Catholicism. The design of the building is based on the equilateral triangle, symbolic of the Holy Trinity, and its variant the trefoil, emblematic of the Tresham family; it also incorporates symbols of the Mass. The monument includes the lodge, a Grade I Listed Building, and the earthwork and buried remains of parts of the adjacent rabbit warren of which it formed a component. The monument is in the care of the Secretary of State. The monument is located approximately 650m north west of Rushton Hall, former seat of the Tresham family, and marks the north western corner of the former Rushton Park. The lodge is a stone built structure of triangular plan. The three exterior walls are constructed of alternating courses of light and dark limestone resting on a plinth of roughly dressed blocks; the quoins, window dressings and other architectural details are picked out in white limestone. The total perimeter of the building is 100ft, divided into three sides each 33'4" (10.16m) in length; each side is divided into three, both horizontally, by a string-course and cornice, and vertically, by windows and gables. On each face are three rows of three windows corresponding to three internal storeys. Each of the basement windows, just above the plinth, takes the form of a small triangular light set in a trefoil panel. The windows of the raised ground floor are much larger and more elaborate: the central light of each is cut in the shape of a cross, each arm terminating in a trefoil of three circular openings which run together to describe a square. Each window is set in a square panel, the corners of which are carved with shields; here, as elsewhere on the building, the shields are principally those of the Treshams and related families. The cross in the central window of the south east side has been cut away to create a larger light adjacent to the entrance to the building, a rectangular doorway reached from a flight of stone steps; on the lintel is the number 5555, believed to indicate the date of the building calculated from Creation. Over the doorway is a shield and the inscription TRES TESTIMONIUM DANT (`There are three that bear witness'), set in a panel which combines the trefoil (above) with the triangle (below). This panel cuts into a string-course which divides the ground floor from the upper storey, and above which are fixed the iron letters and numbers which represent Tresham's initials (south west side) and the date the building was devised, 1593 (south east and north sides). The upper windows are set in square panels, of similar dimensions to those below; each is occupied by a large trefoil differently cut with a number of small lights, principally of triangular shape. The upper corners of the square panels are carved with shields. Above is a classical cornice, divided into three by rainwater heads in the shape of angels; on the cornice are three Latin inscriptions of 33 letters each, taken from the Bible, and below it another of six letters on each side. At roof level are three crocketed gables with an obelisk of triangular section on each point; within each gable is an inscription and a square panel, those on the left and right carved with a religious emblem and that at the centre fixed with a sundial. At the centre of the roof is a chimney of triangular section, ornamented with trefoils, inscriptions and emblems symbolic of the Mass. The interior of the building has three storeys. The principal room on each floor is hexagonal in shape, beyond alternate sides of which is a small triangular room or space. On the north eastern corner of the building this space is occupied by a newel staircase which connects the three storeys; on the raised ground floor it also includes a small lobby through which the building is entered from the exterior doorway. At this level each of the three windowless walls is ornamented with a carved shield with a rectangular panel on each side; at each of the basement and upper levels similar ornament appears on two walls. On the upper floor, now open to the roof, is a fireplace with a cast-iron surround of 19th century date, and at the north western corner is a small chamber with blind windows. This storey would have provided living accommodation for the warrener, from which he could oversee the warren. The basement would have been used for the storage of tools and traps. The lodge stands within a subtriangular enclosure which includes the remains of parts of the rabbit warren which occupied this corner of Rushton Park. In the northern part of the enclosure, running parallel with the adjacent road, is a linear mound approximately 50m long, 5m wide and 0.75m high, tapering at each end. This feature is considered to represent a `pillow' mound constructed to house rabbits. In the south western part of the enclosure is a well. The remainder of the enclosure is believed to include the buried remains of outbuildings and other features associated with the use of the warren and lodge. The modern building which partly overlies the pillow mound in the northern part of the monument is excluded from the scheduling although the ground beneath it is included. Also excluded is the concrete foundation for a modern building in the south east part of the monument, and all modern railings; the ground beneath these features is, however, included. ASSESSMENT OF IMPORTANCE A warren is an area of land set aside for the breeding and management of rabbits or hares in order to provide a constant supply of fresh meat and skins. Although the hare is an indigenous species, the tradition of warren construction and use dates from the 12th century, following the introduction of rabbits into England from the continent. Warrens usually contain a number of purpose-built breeding places known as pillow mounds or rabbit buries, which were intended to centralise the colony and make catching the animals easier, whether using nets, ferrets or dogs. The mounds vary in design although rarely exceeding 0.7m in height. Earlier monuments such as burial mounds, boundary features and mottes were sometimes reused as breeding places. The mounds are usually surrounded by ditches and contain underlying channels or are situated on sloping ground to facilitate drainage. The interior of the mound may also contain nesting places constructed of stone slabs or cut into the underlying subsoil or bedrock. A typical warren may contain between one and forty pillow mounds or rabbit buries and occupy an area up to c.600ha. Many warrens were enclosed by a bank, hedge or wall intended to contain and protect the stock. Other features associated with the warren include vermin traps (usually a dead-fall mechanism within a small tunnel), and more rarely traps for the warren stock (known in Yorkshire as `types') which could contain the animals unharmed and allow for selective culling. Larger warrens might include living quarters for the warrener who kept charge of the site, sometimes surrounded by an enclosed garden and outbuildings. Early warrens were mostly associated with the higher levels of society; however, they gradually spread in popularity so that by the 16th and 17th centuries they were a common feature on most manors and estates throughout the country. Warrens continued in use until fairly recent times, finally declining in the face of 19th and 20th century changes in agricultural practice, and the onset of myxomatosis. Warrens are found in all parts of England, the earliest examples lying in the southern part of the country. Approximately 1,000 - 2,000 examples are known nationally with concentrations in upland areas, on heathland and in coastal zones. The profits from a successfully managed warren could, however, be considerable and many areas in lowland England were set aside for warrens at the expense of agricultural land. Although relatively common, warrens are important for their associations with other classes of monument, including various forms of settlement, deer parks, field systems and fishponds. They may also provide evidence of the economy of both secular and ecclesiastical estates. All well preserved medieval examples are considered worthy of protection. A sample of well preserved sites of later date will also merit protection. The remains of the rabbit warren at Rushton Triangular Lodge include both earthwork and structural features surviving in good condition. The lodge is rare not only as a complete survival of a warrener's lodge but also as an example of an Elizabethan architectural `device'. The unique design of the building is a manifestation of philosophical and religious ideas at a particular period, and as such is of both architectural and historical importance. It is historically well documented and associated with a prominent individual of whose works it is one of only three complete examples. Both the warren and the lodge are of further interest as elements of a post-medieval landscaped park. The site has remained relatively unaffected by modern activity and has never been excavated, indicating a high potential for the survival of buried archaeological deposits. Through structural, earthwork and buried remains the monument will therefore preserve valuable evidence for the occupation and use of rabbit warrens during the peak period of warren construction. As a well known monument in the care of the Secretary of State it also serves as an important educational and recreational resource.

Record last edited

Sep 6 2023 10:00AM