Orangery, Fountain And Garden Wall At Rufford Abbey

The orangery, fountain, and garden wall at Rufford Abbey are notable structures dating from 1729, designed by John Hallam. Originally a bath summer house, it was converted into an orangery in 1889. The building is constructed of brick and coursed squared rubble with ashlar dressings and is currently roofless. It features chamfered brick and stone plinths, a first-floor band, and a moulded cornice. The structure has a rectangular plan with three unequal bays and stands at one and two storeys high.

On the east side, there is a canted bay window and an adjoining three-quarter round fountain. The north side includes a central doorway with an elliptical head, flanked by pilasters and an entablature topped with a shaped crested gable inscribed 'S 1889'. The east end has square flanking towers that rise in three stages. The bay window retains three cross casements with moulded architraves. A plaque on the site notes that the fountain is a copy of an antique lamp discovered by Lord Savile during excavations in Italy in 1885.

Each tower features a single round window on each floor, while the west front has a doorway with a panelled architrave and a keystoned segmental head, along with two round windows above. The top stage of the northeast tower was rebuilt around 1971, and each tower contains an ashlar newel stair. The ashlar-coped fountain pool houses a fountain designed in the shape of a Roman lamp.

Inside, the orangery includes a three-bay Tuscan loggia with moulded bases and capitals, antae, and diced flanking pilasters. The adjoining garden wall is L-shaped and features ramped ashlar coping, with a central ashlar doorway to the north, a blocked doorway to the east, and a pair of blocked ashlar gatepiers with flat caps. There is also a slate memorial tablet from 1953. The garden wall is approximately 400 meters long.