Building record 3320/3/17 - The Palm House or Orangery

Palm house. 1871. By Sir Matthew Digby Wyatt, terracotta relief by Blashfield. Limestone ashlar, cast iron and glass.

{1} Palm house. 1871. By Sir Matthew Digby Wyatt, terracotta relief by Blashfield. Limestone ashlar, cast iron and glass. Tripartite composition. Italian style. 13 bays. Central 3-bay pavilion has tall glazed arcade with pilasters supporting round-headed arches with console keyblocks. Terracotta roundels to spandrels of central arch. Moulded stone cornice and "attic" with long terracotta relief of classical figures. Octagonal glazed dome within balustraded parapet. One-bay pavilion either end with similar arcades, moulded cornices and balustraded parapets and lower 4-bay wings linking pavilions, with glazed bays separated by pilastered piers; plain entablature and balustraded parapet. Interior: central domed space is separated from wings by 3-bay stone arcades similar to that of façade and has central pool. Similar arcades separate wings from end pavilions. Wings have glazed triple-span roof on circular cast-iron columns. Palm House stands at head of central formal axis of Italian Garden. (Castle Ashby park and gardens are included in the HBMC Register of Parks and Gardens for Northamptonshire at Grade I) (Buildings of England: Northamptonshire: 1973, p145)

{3} Orangery by Wyatt 1861; Italian garden 1860.

{5} To the east is a thirteen-bay, limestone ashlar Orangery or Palm House (listed grade II) of 1871 2 by M D Wyatt, with terracotta relief decoration by Blashfield and internal pool by William Burges. The doors in its raised central section are at the north end of the axial path south through the Italian Garden.

{6} Undated photo;

<1> Clews Architects, 1980s, Database for Listing of Historic Buildings of Special Architectural Interest: Northamptonshire, 13/31 (Digital archive). SNN102353.

<2> List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest ("Greenback"), F12 (unchecked) (Catalogue). SNN45262.

<3> Pevsner N.; Cherry B., 1973, The Buildings of England: Northamptonshire, p.138-45 (unchecked) (Series). SNN1320.

<4> BONIFACE P., 1982, The Garden Room, (unchecked) (Book). SNN55861.

<5> English Heritage, 1994, Register of Parks & Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England (1994, Northamptonshire), (unchecked) (Report). SNN1324.

<6> Photographs of buildings in Castle Ashby (Photographs). SNN111838.

Record last edited

Aug 4 2021 4:03PM