Glasshouses at Stockwood Park

Two glasshouses were constructed around the middle of the 19th century by J Weeks and Co. They are situated within the southern corner of the large east walled garden at Stockwood Park.

The glasshouses are built of red brick for the plinth, supporting a timber-framed glazed structure. The two greenhouses are arranged in a line; the shorter one is to the north-east, and the longer one to the south-west. Both are rectangular in plan, with the shorter house having eight bays and the longer one fourteen. Each bay features a row of four large fixed panes of glass, separated by mullions, the outer two of which are fluted. Shaped brackets support the guttering that runs the length of the buildings. The gable ends have wooden doors with three chamfered vertical panels and two tall glazed panels above. The sloping roofs are covered with large, overlapped, slightly scalloped glass panes designed to divert rainwater into the guttering. Each roof end is topped with a wooden ball finial.

The interiors retain a significant portion of the original mechanisms for ventilation and temperature control. A ventilation system allows the upper roof lights to be raised and lowered using long rods connected to the lights and operated by a lever, marked with the maker’s mark. Side lights are raised in groups using a long horizontal rod connected to each bay. Ornate iron brackets support the rafters and apex of each bay. Some original lock and handle plates remain, although not all are in their original positions. Sections of the original stone flag floors survive.

The shorter greenhouse is divided into two parts by a glazed wall resting on a brick plinth and has a door matching the external doors. It features a floating floor, raised on bricks for constant temperature control. Heating pipes on the north-west side are likely not original. A series of white-painted brick plinths at the south-east end supported benches, while a propagation unit was added in the 1970s at the north-east end.

The longer greenhouse retains iron benches at the south-west end, supported by original ornate cast iron posts. A central iron bench, supported by brick piers at the south-west end, is possibly original, while a central raised brick bed at the north-east end likely dates to the 1970s, when the propagation unit was built.