The Palm House Or Orangery

CASTLE ASHBY CASTLE ASHBY PARK SP8659 13/31 The Palm House or Orangery

GV II

Palm house. 1871. By Sir Matthew Digby Wyatt, terracotta relief by Blashfieid. Limestone ashlar, cast iron and glass. Tripartite composition. Italian style. 13 bays. Central 3-bay pavilion has tall glazed arcade with pilasters supporting round-headed arches with console keyblocks. Terracotta roundels to spandrels of central arch. Moulded stone cornice and "attic" with long terracotta relief of classical figures. Octagonal glazed dome within balustraded parapet. One-bay pavilion either end with similar arcades, moulded cornices and balustraded parapets and lower 4-bay wings linking pavilions, with glazed bays separated by pilastered piers; plain entablature and balustraded parapet. Interior: central domed space is separated from wings by 3-bay stone arcades similar to that of facade and has central pool. Similar arcades separate wings from end pavilions. Wings have glazed triple-span roof on circular cast-iron columns. Palm House stands at head of central formal axis of Italian Garden. (Castle Ashby park and gardens are included in the HBMC Register of Parks and Gardens for Northamptonshire at Grade I) (Buildings of England: Northamptonshire: 1973, p145)

Listing NGR: SP8641459074