Range Comprising Conservatory Vine Houses, Walls To Associated Root Beds, And Garden Houses (Now House) At The Walled Gardens

This range comprises a conservatory, vine houses, retaining walls for associated root beds, and garden houses, now a house, located within the walled gardens. Dating primarily from the 19th century and around 1900, the structure was restored and the garden houses converted in the 1980s. The conservatory was originally built for J Taylor, possibly to designs by Fairfax B Wade, with construction carried out by Messenger and Company of Loughborough.

The building is constructed of red brick in Flemish bond, with the vine houses and conservatory featuring wood and iron frames and glass walls and roofs. A section of the conservatory roof has replacement polycarbonate panels. The garden houses have artificial slate roofs. The south side of a spine wall is flanked by three sections of lean-to vine houses, framing the conservatory. Root beds are positioned in front of the vine houses. Behind the spine wall are the garden houses, with the westernmost one in its original condition; the remainder have been converted into a house.

The main (south) elevation of the conservatory features a three-by-three bay arrangement, a brick plinth, and small-pane glazing. A central double door with three panes is flanked by centre-pivoting windows, all set within round-arched architraves with radial glazing bars to the fanlights. A wood cornice is present, with a pediment above the entrance. The curved roof has a hipped-roofed clerestory with a decorative weather-vane. Returns on each side feature windows similar to the front, with the rear bays obscured by the vine houses. The vine houses have brick plinths with blocked arched openings.

The interior of the conservatory reveals an elegant frame with four central columns supporting the clerestory, featuring decorative capitals and openwork arch braces. The main roof ribs feature fretted radial quadrant braces. Original door and window fittings remain, along with a slate shelf on a decorative iron bench with a front grille against the rear wall (previous grilles on other walls have been removed), and fruit supports above. The vine houses also have similar radial quadrant braces to the roof ribs and a funicular ventilating system; a metal floor grille runs through the passage. The window and ventilation systems are operational throughout the range. This conservatory represents an elegant and uncommon survival.