Conservatory at Carrow House

Conservatory built in 1895 by Boulton and Paul of Norwich.

MATERIALS: hard wood and cast iron.

PLAN: the conservatory adjoins the south-west corner of Carrow House which is situated on a sloping site falling steeply to the north-east.

EXTERIOR: the large timber-framed conservatory has a long rectangular plan of nine bays with canted ends, resting on a brick plinth pierced by ornate iron ventilation grilles. The curved roof has a moulded cornice and a continuous lantern surmounted by decorative iron cresting and at each end by an iron finial and weathervane. The bays are divided by wooden mullions with decorative shaping at the top and bottom. Each bay has three fixed vertical panes divided by wooden glazing bars, and above a keyed semi-circular window with tiny leaded lights bordered by a band of red stained glass. The lantern has the same leaded lights and red border. At the short south end of the conservatory is a double-leaf door with lower wooden panels and a glazed upper panel with a semi-circular window above. On the long east side there is another double-leaf door at the right end, and the middle three bays project forward under an elaborate ogee gable head. This is surmounted by a triangular pediment and filled with three panels of Art Nouveau stained glass.

INTERIOR: the conservatory has an aisled wooden structure, each bay divided by a truss supported by aisle posts, with spandrels containing ornate ironwork in the form of cinquefoils and scrolls, and drop finials. Around the inside edge is a slightly raised platform, laid fairly roughly in red brick, which may originally have been beds that were later filled in. The main area of the floor is a large oval mosaic laid in white, bronze and black tesserae, surrounded by a scalloped iron grille with a border of bronze and black. At the south end of the conservatory is a similarly bordered circle, now filled in, which may originally have been either a bed or perhaps a pond. The heating and ventilation apparatus are in situ, consisting of hot water pipes and lever mechanisms attached to the aisle posts for opening the windows along the ventilation ridge.