Archway House Or Birmingham Houses And Attached Walls

Archway House, also known as Birmingham Houses, is a pair of greenhouses and a garden feature built around 1873 by Sir Matthew Digby Wyatt. The structure features a cast iron frame made by Clarke and Hope of Birmingham in 1868, and is constructed from limestone ashlar, cast iron, and glass, with lead and glass roofs. Designed in the Italianate style, it includes a tall central triumphal arch that is round-headed with a keyblock and supported by Corinthian columns with a full entablature. There are panelled piers on either side of the arch, along with a plain frieze and moulded cornice.

The lower greenhouse wings have 4-bay loggias to the north, facing the Palm House, which are separated from the greenhouses by spine walls and feature round-arched arcades. Each greenhouse has 6 glazed bays to the south, with pilasters on the piers, and is 3 bays deep, with similar glazing on the sides and central double-leaf glazed doors, topped with balustraded parapets. The east loggia includes an external stone spiral staircase at the east end that provides access to the lead roofs. Both wings have attached walls that separate the loggias from the greenhouse sides, with the wall to the west pierced by round-headed archways.

Inside, the greenhouses have triple-span glazed roofs supported by circular cast-iron columns with lotus capitals. The triumphal arch is positioned on the central axis of the Italian Garden. Castle Ashby park and gardens are included in the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission Register of Parks and Gardens for Northamptonshire at Grade I.