Rushton Triangular Lodge, Northamptonshire, UK
Thomas Tresham's Covert Tribute to The Trinity & His Catholic Faith
May 30, 2009
There is something compulsive about Sir Thomas Tresham's Triangular Lodge. It is obvious at first glance - we are used to a world of rectangular buildings, with the odd foray into circularity for things like the Albert Hall.
There is something deliciously unsettling about a building that has a floor plan based upon an equilateral triangle. Impractical, too - corners of 60 degree angles make the rooms difficult to use, so the main internal rooms are in fact hexagonal in plan. The small triangular sections tucked away in the corners are still used, however. One corner of the building houses the staircase - there are, of course, three floors, and the other corners form antechambers for the main hexagonal rooms.
The History of Rushton Triangular Lodge
Tresham seems to have converted to Catholicism in 1580, as the Jesuits came to England to try and roll back the State's adoption of Protestantism. The reign of Queen Elizabeth I was not a good time to be a Catholic in England. Adherents were viewed with suspicion, particular if as in Tresham's case his grandfather had been one of the supporters of Mary Tudor. Tresham recusancy (refusal to renounce Catholicism) meant he was held prisoner for more than a decade and fined about £8000. During his long incarceration, he hatched the idea of covertly displaying his faith, and the concept of the Rushton Triangular Lodge was born. It was constructed in the grounds of his estate between 1593 and 1597, and was the result of Thomas Tresham's particular favour of mystical Catholicism, which seemed to also feature some numerology and mysticism about the Trinity.
Architecture and Symbolism of the Rushton Triangular Lodge
The triangular sides of the building are a third of a hundred feet long (33 feet). In each of the walls on the three floors there were three windows. The walls are topped with three gables on each wall, and the whole building is topped by a triangular chimney, and there are three inscriptions of 33 letters each carved on the exterior. Above the entrance is inscribed 'Tres Testimonium Dant', a Latin quotation from St John's Gospel meaning "There are three that bear witness" - a reference to the Trinity again, and a private in joke between the Treshams, as Tresham's wife referred to her husband as 'Good Tres' in letters.
Tresham seems to have succeeded in proclaiming his faith both covertly and hiding it in plain sight. It is obvious to even the most casual observer that there is something unusual about this building. However the allegory on the topic of the trinity was not so overt that it brought down the wrath of the authorities on either Tresham or his edifice, which still stands today.
Visiting Rushton Triangular Lodge
The Lodge is in the care of English Heritage, an entrance fee is payable for non-members of English Heritage. Parking is limited. Entrance prices and opening times are available from English Heritage.
Rushton Triangular Lodge on Google Maps
References
Resistance, Loyalty & Recusant Politics, Sandeep Kaushik, Midland History, U of Birmingham, Oct 1996
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