| Summary: | Orangery at Bicton Park including hot-houses adjoining to north-west and south-east. Early 19C with rear additions of c1980. Main walls limestone ashlar, others brick and stuccoed to front, exposed to rear; slate roof to main block, glass roofs to hot-houses. Broad curving building facing south-west and overlooking the Italianate Gardens (q.v.). The main block is relatively tall and single storey. The central part is open behind a colonnade and the rooms either side curve slightly forward. The rear wall continues the curve either side with hot-houses in front. They are lower and set back fron the front. At the end of each of the inner hot-houses the rear wall steps back before continuing the forward curve and thus the outer hot-houses are recessed from the inner ones. The Orangery has a symmetrical 3:3-window Classical front. The windows are confined to the rooms whilst the centre portion comprises a wide distyle Ionic collonade in antis on a pair of steps, with moulded entablature and modillion cornice and low-pitched pediment over which contains a round-headed niche. The steps are flanked by low walls on which are large limestone statues of seated barking dogs. Either side of the colonnade are 4 bays with panelled pilasters between. The 3 inner bays contain massive full height 48-pane sashes. The outer bays each contain a round-headed niche with an oculus window over. The same moulded entablature and modillion cornice is carried across each side with a plain parapet above. The roof is hipped each end and the pediment is surmounted by a large wrought iron and brass weather vane. The niches contain white marble busts on fluted columnular pedestals; the Duke of Wellington in the pediment, Sir Walter Raleigh to right and Lord Nelson to left. The hot-houses on either side have low stucco sleeper walls, glass walls with glazing bars and glass monopitch roofs leaning against the rear walls. They were apparently designed for various levels of heat and the inner ones have boilerhouses behind. The Orangery with its adjoining hot-houses from part of the 19C landscaping scheme which was conceived on a grand scale and includes a group of fine listed buildings such as the Palm House (q.v.) and the features of the Italianate Gardens (q.v.). The Orangery overlooks the gardens down to the valley where Hayward's Church of St Mary (q.v.) stands a little to left of view. The church is partly hidden by a stand of trees but a gap was left in the middle to concentrate the view on the Rolle obelisk (q.v.) which stands on the brown of the next hill. |
|---|