Remains Of Winter Garden Of Somerleyton Hall

The remains of the Winter Garden of Somerleyton Hall, built around 1846 by John Thomas for Sir Morton Peto, are located to the north of the hall. Constructed from red brick with stone dressings, the surviving structure includes the north and east colonnaded corridors, with the east corridor being glazed. Architectural features include moulded semi-circular arches with keys, a stone cornice, and a pierced parapet supported by bracket capitals shaped like sculptured female heads adorned with wreaths. Originally, the parapet was topped with urns.

To the north, there is a symmetrical nine-bay facade that steps forward in three sections, leading to an entrance flanked by paired columns. The inner entrance to the east range is decorated with female figures in niches. The corridors house sculptures that once adorned the gardens, including works such as two Spanish Dancers by J. Hautman of Munich, Venus at Her Toilet, The Sitting Nymph, and possibly Pandora by A. Hautman of Florence, and Hymen by Bystrom of Rome, along with other pieces by Thomas.

The Winter Garden was noted for its elaborate heating and gas lighting and was described in an 1861 estate sale catalogue as 'a crystal building in the Renaissance style with mosque dome' and 'unsurpassed by anything of its kind in Europe.' Both the Winter Garden and the adjoining Palm House were largely dismantled in 1914. The surrounding park and gardens are recognized in the HBMC County Register of Gardens at Grade II*.