Kitchen Garden of Somerleyton Hall is a Grade II* listed building in the East Suffolk local planning authority area, England. First listed on 29 January 1987. Garden.

Kitchen Garden of Somerleyton Hall

WRENN ID
watchful-lancet-crow
Grade
II*
Local Planning Authority
East Suffolk
Constituency
Lowestoft MP: Jess Asato (Lab)
Country
England
Date first listed
29 January 1987
Type
Garden
Address
Kitchen Garden of Somerleyton Hall, Ashby and Herringfleet
OS grid reference
TM 492 979
Coordinates
52.52266, 1.67262
Source
Historic England listing

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

Description

The Kitchen Garden of Somerleyton Hall is a walled kitchen garden built around 1846 for Sir Morton Peto. It features a rectangular layout with red brick walls measuring 90 meters by 60 meters and standing 3.5 to 4 meters high. The south wall includes a striking central entrance portico made of red brick with stone dressings. This portico is supported by four pilasters and topped with a cornice that holds two stone urns, each containing a bronze aloe plant. The entrance is adorned with wrought iron gates and a carved segmental panel above, with niches on either side housing urns.

On the south side of the south wall, there are two identical ranges of glass cases with entrances at each end that are set forward. These glass cases have cast iron frames and vertically-glazed wooden panels, featuring a cornice with cresting and cone finials. On the south side of the north wall, there are two matching ranges of lean-to glasshouses with ridge and furrow roofs, also constructed with cast iron frames. Behind these structures are potting and store sheds. The glass cases are notable as the only other similar examples by Sir Joseph Paxton are located at Chatsworth. In the 1861 estate sale catalogue, these cases were referred to as "Glass Wall Houses or Promenade Houses." The garden is part of a larger area listed in the HBMC County Register of Gardens at Grade II*.

Local climate

Kitchen Garden of Somerleyton Hall receives an average of 780 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 60% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 78% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 6 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 96% of listed buildings. Of these, 4 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.

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Nearby listed buildings

  1. Statue of Atlanta on North Lawn at Somerleyton Hall Grade II 105 m
  2. Aviary Grade II 137 m
  3. Remains of Winter Garden of Somerleyton Hall Grade II 147 m
  4. Stable Court to Somerleyton Hall Grade II* 158 m
  5. Retaining Wall of Terrace to Garden Front of Somerleyton Hall Grade II 182 m
  6. Group of 4 Stone Troughs in Formal Gardens of Somerleyton Hall Grade II 194 m
  7. Screen Wall to Entrance Front of Somerleyton Hall Grade II 201 m
  8. Group of 4 Urns in Centre of Formal Gardens of Somerleyton Hall Grade II 210 m
  9. Somerleyton Hall Grade II* 214 m
  10. Sundial in Formal Gardens of Somerleyton Hall Grade II 226 m