Coombe Cliffe Conservatory

Coombe Cliffe Conservatory is a cast-iron and glass structure built in 1894 for Frederick Horniman. It features decorative ironwork by Macfarlane and Company of Saracen Foundry in Glasgow and has a cruciform plan. The conservatory includes doorways in the center of the two end walls and at the ends of the transepts, with a decorative porch that has a semicircular arched doorway leading to the south transept. The walls are framed by Corinthian columns, with a lower band, rosette panels, and a foliate frieze adorned with tendrils. The roof is designed with a fish-scale frame, featuring acroteria at the corners of the upper roofs, along with antefixae and finials on the lower roofs. An octagonal lantern crowns the central crossing, topped by a pyramidal roof and weathervane. Inside, there are rope-twist columns with foliate spandrels supporting the central dome. The conservatory was moved from its original location at the Horniman home, Combe Cliffe, to its current position next to the Horniman Museum in 1988. It is a fine example of a Victorian cast-iron conservatory.