"In the 1740s, the Hoare family began their development of the estate, diverting the headwaters of the infant river into a lake and a series of pools and wells. The most important is Ariadne's Well, now contained within the grotto overlooking the lake.
"Water thunders behind a lead copy of a statue of 'Sleeping Ariadne' (the original is in the Vatican), with verses by Alexander Pope inscribed on a marble slab laid into the pavement:
"Nymph of the Grot these sacred springs I keep And to the murmur of these waters sleep Ah! Spare my slumbers; gently tread the cave And drink in silence or in silence lave."
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"Grottoes were popular in Italian Renaissance gardens as a cool retreat from summer heat. The grotto at Stourhead is constructed of brick, lined with limestone and tufa imported from Italy.
"For the Romans, such places were shrines to the gods and the home of water nymphs. The Grotto's main room is a circular domed chamber with a flooded niche, fed by natural springs, in which the reclining 'Nymph of the Grot' lies. Beyond the main chamber lies another niche, in which a statue of a classical river god (representing Tiber or alternatively the local river Stour), perched on his island rock and surrounded by water, points the way to the Pantheon.
"This scene is evidently also taken from the story of Aeneas, in which the Greek hero, a survivor of the Trojan War, lands in Italy. He is met by Tiber, who tells him that 'here is your home assured’, and instructs Aeneas to seek the Arcadian king, who he finds at an altar dedicated to Hercules."
