The Palm House or Orangery is a Grade II listed building in the West Northamptonshire local planning authority area, England. Palm house, orangery.
The Palm House or Orangery
- WRENN ID
- fading-timber-ash
- Grade
- II
- Local Planning Authority
- West Northamptonshire
- Constituency
- South Northamptonshire MP: Sarah Bool (Con)
- Country
- England
- Type
- Palm house, orangery
- Address
- The Palm House or Orangery, Castle Ashby Park
- OS grid reference
- SP 864 590
- Coordinates
- 52.22312, -0.73636
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The Palm House, also known as the Orangery, is a palm house built in 1871 by Sir Matthew Digby Wyatt, featuring terracotta relief by Blashfield. It is constructed from limestone ashlar, cast iron, and glass, showcasing an Italian style with a tripartite composition. The structure has 13 bays, with a central 3-bay pavilion that includes a tall glazed arcade supported by pilasters and round-headed arches with console keyblocks. Terracotta roundels are located in the spandrels of the central arch, and there is a moulded stone cornice and an "attic" adorned with a long terracotta relief of classical figures. At the top, an octagonal glazed dome is set within a balustraded parapet.
On either end of the central pavilion are one-bay pavilions that mirror the arcade design, complete with moulded cornices and balustraded parapets. These are linked by lower 4-bay wings featuring glazed bays separated by pilastered piers, a plain entablature, and a balustraded parapet. Inside, the central domed space is divided from the wings by 3-bay stone arcades that resemble the facade, and it contains a central pool. Similar arcades also separate the wings from the end pavilions. The wings are topped with a glazed triple-span roof supported by circular cast-iron columns. The Palm House is situated at the head of the central formal axis of the Italian Garden. Castle Ashby park and gardens are recognized in the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission Register of Parks and Gardens for Northamptonshire at Grade I.
Local climate
The Palm House or Orangery sits in a drier-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 710 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 89% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 87% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 36 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 60% of listed buildings. Of these, 16 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.
More on this building
Sign in or create a free account to unlock:
- No EPC on record for this property
- No sale records on file
- No related consent applications matched
- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- Flood risk assessment
- Radon risk assessment
- Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
Matched applications, energy data and sale records are assembled automatically and may contain errors. Flag incorrect data.
Similar buildings
The closest matches to this building from all 493,000 UK listed buildings, by architecture, period and materials.
this building 1 similar nearby listed buildings
Nearby listed buildings
- Memorial Cross in Churchyard of Church of St Mary Magdelene
- Remains of Former Greenhouse, Attached Monument, Wall, Gate and Gatepiers
- Church of St Mary Magdalen
- Railings, Gate and Gatepiers Bounding West Side of Italian Garden
- Archway House or Birmingham Houses and Attached Walls
- Terrace Gardens
- Camellia or Round House
- Gates, Gatepiers and Balustrading to Forecourt of Castle Ashby
- Beehouse in Kitchen Garden to South West of Main Entrance
- Beehouse in Kitchen Garden to South East of Main Entrance