Rushton Triangular Lodge

The Rushton Triangular Lodge, 22 kilometres north of Northampton near the village of Rushton, is one of the strangest and most fascinating buildings in England. Built between 1593 and 1597 by the recusant Catholic Sir Thomas Tresham, it is a small folly in which every dimension, detail, and inscription is governed by the number three — a coded reference to the Holy Trinity and Tresham's Catholic faith.

The building is managed by English Heritage and open to visitors. The interior is modest — a series of small triangular rooms on three floors — but the exterior is covered in carved inscriptions, heraldic devices, and symbolic ornament that can occupy a careful observer for some time. The surrounding estate is now farmland. It makes an easy half-day excursion from Northampton, especially combined with a visit to Lyveden New Bield (another Tresham project) six kilometres away.

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A story
Every element of the lodge is based on the number three — a coded declaration of Catholic faith at a time when Catholicism was illegal in England. Three walls, three floors, three windows on each face, triangular gables, trefoil ornaments, and Latin inscriptions that each contain 33 letters. Its builder, Sir Thomas Tresham, spent fifteen years in prison for refusing to convert to Protestantism, and built the lodge on his release as a monument to his faith.