Rushton Triangular Lodge is a delightful triangular building in Northamptonshire, where three is the magic number. Designed by Sir Thomas Tresham and built in the late 1590’s.
It is a testament to Tresham’s Roman Catholicism: the number three, symbolising the Holy Trinity, is apparent everywhere. There are three floors, trefoil windows and three triangular gables on each side.
On the entrance front is the inscription ‘Tres Testimonium Dant’ (‘there are three that give witness’) a Biblical quote from St John’s Gospel referring to the Trinity. It is also a pun on Tresham’s name; his wife Muriel (née Throckmorton) used to call him ‘Good Tres’ in her letters.
Francis Tresham (Robert & Muriel’s eldest son) was one of the Gunpowder Plotters. It is owned and managed by English Heritage.
