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Recent history John Scott's daughter, Maria, inherited her father's estate when he died in 1783. When she died in 1863 the property was sold and Scotts Road built. The grotto was then part of the garden for a large house on Scotts Road but this was demolished in the mid 1960s and the present modern houses on this section of the road built. The builder planned two houses for the land that the grotto occupies and had demolished the porch and the roof of the council chamber before work was stopped. However it wasn't until 1974 that East Hertfordshire District Council acquired the land and carried out basic repairs.
 In 1987 the Ware Society, a local voluntary group who had been involved with opening the Grotto to the public since 1983 suggested a full scale restoration scheme. James Howley, a specialist architect designed the scheme which involved replacing the demolished porch, re-roofing the Council Chamber and repairing the summer house. The proposed scheme cost ?124,000 of which East Herts District Council contributed ?60,000, English Heritage ?32,000 and the remaining ?32,000 raised by the Ware Society. Work started in January 1990 and the restored grotto was opened in April 1991 by Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, the chairman of English Heritage at the time.
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Recent History 
Wednesday, 08 September 2010
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