Site Open
Rushton Triangular Lodge is open every Saturday and Sunday from 11am - 2pm until the end of October.
Free Entry
Open every Saturday and Sunday until the end of October. Free to enter.
Address:
Rushton, Kettering, Northamptonshire, NN14 1RP
Rushton Triangular Lodge is an intriguing folly built in 1593-97 by Sir Thomas Tresham. Tresham was a staunch Roman Catholic, often fined or imprisoned for his then-illegal faith.
The lodge is a testament to Tresham’s defiant Catholicism and his obsession with quirky buildings, symbolism and numbers – particularly the number three. All Rushton Triangular Lodge’s features come in threes, symbolising the Holy Trinity.
There are three floors, trefoil windows and three sides, each 33 1/3-feet-long, with three triangular gables.
There are many coded references to Roman Catholic beliefs. Inscribed over the door is ‘Tres Testimonium Dant’ (‘there are three that bear witness’), a reference to the Trinity. It’s also a pun on Tresham’s name; his wife called him ‘Good Tres’, so the inscription could also mean ‘Tres bears witness’.
Rushton Triangular Lodge is free to enter and is open to visitors every Saturday and Sunday from 11am - 2pm until the end of October.
Before You Go
Rushton Triangular Lodge is free to enter and is open to visitors every Saturday and Sunday from 11am - 2pm until the end of October.
There is no English Heritage car park at Rushton Triangular Lodge, visitors can park in a nearby lay-by however this is not guaranteed. If you are unable to park, the village of Rushton is a short walk away. Your ticket will be valid all day if you’re unable to park, and would like to come back later.
For more information, please see our pages on access and facilities.
Rushton Triangular Lodge on the English Heritage Podcast
Listen to properties historian Dr Andrew Roberts and historian Dr Elizabeth Norton discuss Francis Tresham, Ruston Triangular Lodge and the Gunpowder Plot and his family home.