Tullynally Castle

Detached three-bay single-storey rustic grotto on octagonal plan, erected c.1785. Built of water-eroded limestone with brick lined walls to interior to the north. Domed roof over, now cement rendered. Pointed-arched openings. Continuous bench runs around the back wall to interior with modern timber panels and tracery to walls. Floor constructed of water rolled pebbles. Built into the side of a hill with extensive views to the south over gardens and towards Lough Derravargh to the southwest. Located to the west of Tullynally Castle (15400321) within the pleasure gardens.

An appealing rustic grotto of some romantic quality, which probably dates to the late eighteenth-century. It is constructed of water-eroded limestone brought from nearby Lough Derravaragh, which can be seen to the south/southwest from the interior of the grotto. It was probably built at the same time the formal water gardens were removed and the garden was re-laid in its present romantic Picturesque form, c.1780. It forms part of an important and extensive group of structures associated with Tullynally Castle (15400321) and is an appealing addition to the built heritage of Westmeath in its own right.