Building record 5159/1/1 - The Triangular Lodge, Rushton

Rushton Triangular Lodge was built by Sir Thomas Tresham in 1594-7. 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 base on the equilateral triangle, symbolic of the Holy Trinity and its variant, the trefoil, emblematic of the Tresham family. It also incorporates symbols of Mass. There are two storeys and a semi-basement or cellar and three windows to each floor in each side. On each side three pointed gables with tall finials rise above the continuous entablature and screen the roof. From the centre of the roof rises a tall and appropriately fanciful chimney stack. There are small trefoil windows with triangular lights to the cellar; a diamond formation of small circular openings forms the windows of the ground storey; and those of the first storey are large trefoil with triangular and hexagonal openings. The gables and the windows of the two main storeys are decorated with a great variety of heraldic devices and coats-of-arms. A continuous cornice or platband runs above the pediment above the simple doorway which is approached by a short flight of stone steps.

{1} Lodge. Dated TT1593 and 1595, Limestone and ironstone ashlar laid in alternate courses, Collyweston stone slate roof, elaborately decorated central stone chimney stacks which carries date 1595. 2 storeys and semi-basement. 3 windows to each floor on each side. Triangular plan. On each side 3 pointed gables with tall finials rise above the continuous entablature and screen the roof. Each side of the building is 33 1/3 feet long and carries a Biblical text of 33 letters. Semi-basement windows are small trefoils with triangular lights, ground floor windows are in the form of a cross with 3 circular windows at the end of each arm (forming diamond), first floor windows are large trefoiled with triangular and hexagonal openings. The gables and the windows of the 2 main storeys are decorated with a great variety of devices. Heavy studded door reached by flight of C20 steps. Interior much plainer: one large hexagonal room on each floor with small triangular spaces at the corners one of which contains a newel stair. First floor main room has fireplace with C19 surround. Built for Thomas Tresham of Rushton Hall (q.v.), the Triangular Lodge is an architectural conceit which makes great play with the number 3, mainly as a symbol of the Holy Trinity but also as a pun on his surname. It is in the care of English Heritage. (Buildings of England: Northamptonshire: pp.400-2)

{4} Illustration & description of Triangular Lodge;

{6} Strange triangular lodge stands in grounds of Rushton; every aspect underlies concept of 3 & Holy Trinity; erected by Francis Tresham's father Thomas; local tradition has it that lodge was another meeting place of conspirators of Gunpowder Plot; photo of lodge included;

{8}"....useless & puzzling walls....";"....beatiful seclusion with gaily-coloured veil that time & trees have thrown over it....fall to deciphering its puzzles with interest & forgetting for few moments....are pleased to stay & examine this extreme type of quaint conceits that abounded in days of Elizabeth...."; dates on lodge of 1593 & 1595 correspond with those on parts of Rushton Hall; illustration of chimney on top of lodge;

{9} Local mathematician suggests "Sir Thomas Tresham chose to put the date 1593 on the builiding, even though that was when it was conceived rather than built. I would like to suggest that the number 1593 might have deeper significance, connected with the theme of the Holy Trinity which pervades the Lodge. 1593 may be divided by 3, three times successively; the result of doing this is 59, (the middle two digits of 1593). Putting it another way, 59, when multiplied three times by 3, provides the connection between 1 and 3 (in the number 1593) thus suggesting the Three in One..... I am left wondering whether this curiosity has been noticed before, possibly even by Tresham himself."

{10} Illustration; walk continues for considerable distance until leads into corner of grounds to well-known Triangular Lodge built by Sir Thomas Tresham; description & plans etc included;

{11} Tilleman's drawing with notes;

{13} Triangular Lodge is only extant complete work by Tresham; in plan is an equilateral triangle with 3 storeys & 3 windows on each side & on each floor; each side has 3 gables rising to 3 tapering pinnacles; at intersection to roof is 3-sided chimney stack; below gables is frieze with continuous inscription carried around 3 sides; each side is 33 ft long & bears 33 letters; building thus symbolic of Holy Trinity; building not just folly; Rushton accounts refer to it as Warryner's Lodge & was no doubt used by keeper who had charge of rabbits; detailed description of symbolism given; building of lodge was begun in 1594 & completed in 1597; was conceived of in 1593 when Thomas returned to Rushton from imprisonment which is why this date appears; masons called Tyrell did most of Tresham's building work & were joined by Parris in 1594 to execute this project; detailed drawings given;

{15} At extremity of grounds is triangular lodge built by Sir Thomas Tresham;

{16} Description & view of Triangular Lodge;

{17} Woodcuts of Triangular Lodge;

{?} Triangular Lodge at the NW corner of the estate. Built by Sir Thomas tresham. It was begun in 1594 and completed in 1597, although the dates on the building are 1593 and 1595. The most perfect example in architectural terms of the Elizabethan love of the conceit. Everything about the little building is directed by the number three, ie allegorizes the Trinity. It was also a pun on Tresham's own name. The Treshams' emblem was the trefoil, and so there are plety of trefoils on the building. But the plan and most of the details are based on the equilateral triangle. There are three storeys each with three windows in each of the three sides...... It is no more nor less than a profession of faith in stone.

{21} Four undated photos;

{22} SP 830 4830: Triangular Lodge (LB)

{23} The Triangular Lodge at Rushton was built by Sir Thomas Tresham between 1594 and 1597 although the earliest date on the building is 1593 (2). Everything about the lodge is directed by the number 3 allegorizing the Trinity. The plan is triangular, the sides are one third of a hundred feet long, it has three storeys etc. The building is now under the care of the Ministry of Public Buildings and Works.

{24} See photograph and leaflet.

{25} [Former list description] Dated 1595. Built by Thomas Tresham. The ground plan is an equilateral triangle with sides of 33 feet. The materials are sandstone and limestone in regular narrow alternate courses. There are two storeys and a semi-basement or cellar and three windows to each floor in each side. On each side three pointed gables with tall finials rise above the continuous entablature and screen the roof. From the centre of the roof rises a tall and appropriately fanciful chimney stack. There are small trefoil windows with triangular lights to the cellar; a diamond formation of small circular openings forms the windows of the ground storey; and those of the first storey are large trefoil with triangular and hexagonal openings. The gables and the windows of the two main storeys are decorated with a great variety of heraldic devices and coats-of-arms. A continuous cornice or platband runs above the pediment above the simple doorway which is approached by a short flight of stone steps. Condition fair. (This building is almost unapproachable owing to the wild state of the park).

{26} 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 base on the equilateral triangle, symbolic of the Holy Trinity and its variant, the trefoil, emblematic of the Tresham family. It also incorporates symbols of Mass. The monument includes the lodge, the earthwork and buried remains of parts of the adjacent rabbit warren of which it formed a component.

{27} [Former list description] Rushton Triangular Lodge is built from limestone and ironstone ashlar with a Collywestone slate roof. Each side of the building is 33 1/3 feet long and carries a Biblical text of 33 letters.

{28} The guidebook for Rushton Triangular Lodge contains further historical details, photographs, elevations and floor plans.

{30} Notes on the buildings of Sir Thomas Tresham, pamphlet Rushton and its owners, drawing of lodge;

{31} Three photos dated 1960;

<1> Clews Architects, 1980s, Database for Listing of Historic Buildings of Special Architectural Interest: Northamptonshire, 4/170 (checked) (Digital archive). SNN102353.

<2> 1976, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest ("Greenback"), J12 p.120 (unchecked) (Catalogue). SNN100754.

<3> Pevsner N.; Cherry B., 1973, The Buildings of England: Northamptonshire, p.400-2 (unchecked) (Series). SNN1320.

<4> 1896, Rushton And Its Owners, (unchecked) (Article). SNN77120.

<5> Bailey B.A., 1996, Northamptonshire in the Early Eighteenth Century: The Drawings of Peter Tillemans & Others, (unchecked) (Series). SNN41766.

<6> DEACON M., 1969, THREE MIDLAND CONSPIRATORS, 8-11 (unchecked) (Article). SNN44333.

<7> Ward H., 1867, The Triangular Lodge at Rushton, (unchecked) (Series). SNN58428.

<8> Gotch J.A., 1890, The Renaissance in Northamptonshire, 87-114 (unchecked) (Paper/s). SNN42225.

<9> CORRESPONDENCE, (unchecked) (Notes). SNN40848.

<10> Gotch J.A., 1936, The Old Halls and Manor Houses of Northamptonshire, 38-45 (unchecked) (Book). SNN44101.

<11> Tillemans P., 1720, Rushton Triangular Lodge, (unchecked) (Drawing). SNN59129.

<12> Jenkins S., 2003, England's Thousand Best Houses, p.549 (unchecked) (Extract). SNN104722.

<13> ISHAM G., 1970, THE TRIANGULAR LODGE AT RUSHTON, (unchecked) (Uncertain). SNN46927.

<14> SWEETING W.D., 1868, ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION OF THE TRIANGULAR LODGE AT RUSHTON, (unchecked) (Uncertain). SNN59657.

<15> Adams G.E., Some Account of The Family of Cockayne at Rushton: Their Principal Residence, (part checked) (Uncertain). SNN46928.

<16> 1841, The Gentleman's Magazine (1841), p.594 (unchecked) (Article). SNN46938.

<17> 1845, The Builder, 144-5 (unchecked) (Illustration). SNN46940.

<18> Saint, D., 2005, County's Own Da Vinci Code, (checked) (Newspaper cuttings). SNN107675.

<19> Randall, D. & J., 1991, Alfresco Architecture, (unchecked) (Article). SNN107736.

<20> Catlin, A.A., The Triangular Lodge, Rushton, (checked) (Postcard). SNN109391.

<21> Photographs of buildings in Rushton (Photographs). SNN113165.

<22> Ordnance Survey, 1955, 1950s/60s Ordnance Survey 6 Inch Mapping Series (SP44NE) (Map). SNN61128.

<23> Northamptonshire Antiquarian Society, 1964-5, Report And Papers of The Northamptonshire Antiquarian Society, Page 14, 18, 20 (Report). SNN105714.

<24> Colquhoun, FD, 1969, Field investigators comments, 10-Jun-69 (Notes). SNN112950.

<25> List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest, Kettering Rural District Feb 1950, p. 31 (Report). SNN112993.

<26> English Heritage, English Heritage Scheduling Notification, 22-Mar-96 (Report). SNN114848.

<27> List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest, Kettering, 19-JUN-1992, p. 120 (Report). SNN112993.

<28> Girouard, M., 2004, Rushton Triangular Lodge (Guide). SNN116381.

<29> Historic England, Rushton Triangular Lodge, Various archive items, see source record for more detail (Archive). SNN116382.

<30> Dryden H.E.L., 1842-1895, Dryden Collection, DR/234/13,19,20 (Archive). SNN115.

<31> Bourn, R, 2009, Supplementary Assessment: Archaeological Assessment in respect of Harrington Wind Farm (Report). SNN116650.

Record last edited

Feb 19 2025 11:56AM