The Conservatory and Attached Wall, Steps and Urns is a Grade II* listed building in the Staffordshire Moorlands local planning authority area, England. First listed on 3 January 1967. A Nineteenth Century Conservatory.

The Conservatory and Attached Wall, Steps and Urns

WRENN ID
under-pillar-mallow
Grade
II*
Local Planning Authority
Staffordshire Moorlands
Constituency
Staffordshire Moorlands MP: Dame Karen Bradley (Con)
Country
England
Date first listed
3 January 1967
Type
Conservatory
Period
Nineteenth Century
Address
The Conservatory and Attached Wall, Steps and Urns, Farley
OS grid reference
SK 075 433
Coordinates
52.98751, -1.88944
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

The Conservatory, along with its attached wall, steps, and urns, was built around 1824 by Robert Abraham. It features ashlar and cast iron construction and is oriented east-west, facing south, with a circular central bay. The structure is one storey high, consisting of a 5-bay central block and 3-bay end blocks, all adorned with panelled pilasters and bracketed cornices. These blocks are connected by set-back 8-bay loggias that have fluted columns. The central bay is tripartite and bows outward, with all bays being glazed. The end bays feature fanlights with radiating glazing bars. The conservatory is topped with seven glazed domes that have decorative cast iron glazing bars and pineapple finials, with the central dome being significantly larger and equipped with a louvre.

Inside, the central bay contains a circular pool. A low retaining wall is attached to the left and sweeps around to the front, where it ends with a flight of stone steps flanked by cast iron urns. There are urns in front of each loggia and one on a stone pedestal at the right end of the conservatory. This structure is part of the important garden layout at Alton Towers, which is recognized at Grade I on the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England Gardens Register.

Local climate

The Conservatory and Attached Wall, Steps and Urns receives an average of 880 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 64% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 54% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 43 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 81% of listed buildings. Of these, 23 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

More on this building

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Nearby listed buildings

  1. The Loggia and Attached Terrace Wall and Steps Grade II 30 m
  2. Summerhouse, and retaining wall and urns to terrace south of the conservatory Grade II 51 m
  3. The Orangery Grade II 56 m
  4. Stonehenge Grade II 65 m
  5. Miniature Bridge Grade II 69 m
  6. Retaining wall to terrace south of The Loggia and attached steps and piers Grade II 79 m
  7. Walls, Gatepiers and Steps Defining the North and East Sides of the Terraced Gardens South East of the Conservatory Grade II 93 m
  8. Gatepiers and Gates at Ngr Sk 07424335 Grade II 99 m
  9. Retaining Wall of Dam to South East Side of the Boating Lake Grade II 116 m
  10. The Roman Bath and Terrace Wall to the South Grade II 122 m