North Wall Of Former Palm House Including Garden Boundary Walling Attached To West

The north wall of the former Palm House, including the garden boundary wall attached to the west, is located on the northeast side of the formal gardens of Somerleyton Hall. This wall, built around 1846 by John Thomas for Sir Morton Peto, is made of red brick with stone dressings and stands approximately 3 meters high. It features flanking niches with pediments at the top and seven stone roundels, most of which are carved with busts of medieval characters. The wall is topped with stone urns and a central feature. At the east end, there is a return wall with two additional roundels and a blind semi-circular arch that supports a fine statue of a milkmaid by Joseph Durham. A drinking fountain was formerly located near this statue. The stone columns in front of the wall were added after the Palm House was demolished in 1914. To the west, there is an additional length of boundary walling for the formal gardens, which ends in a square pier with a tall tapering stone finial topped by a small urn, one of a pair that frames the view down the lime avenue to the south. This structure is listed for its group value and is part of a garden included in the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission County Register of Gardens at Grade II*.