Castle Ashby Orangery

Once home to the 7th Marquess of Northampton, Castle Ashby sits on 10,000 acres and next to a 25-acre garden. In 1512, William Compton, a prominent courtier of Henry VIII, bought Castle Ashby from Sir John Hussey. Henry Lord Compton, William’s grandson, began construction on a house the shape of an ‘E’ in 1574, as a way of celebrating Queen Elizabeth I’s coronation in 1558. 

King William III visited in 1695 and recommended adding tree-lined pathways to improve the visual appeal of the castle. In 1761, popular gardener Capability Brown reworked the Elizabethan garden to suit his signature style. He added ponds, lakes, a dairy and a temple. 

In 1867, architect E.W. Godwin was commissioned to build an Italian orangery for the property. 

“With soaring glazed ceilings and large window openings set between narrow columns of stone, Castle Ashby’s orangery embraces the light. The glass panes in the windows are supported by narrow cast-iron mullions, further enhancing the view of the gardens, which Godwin also designed,” according to Alan Stein and Nancy Virts, authors of the recent book “The Conservatory: Gardens under Glass”. 

The orangery has a classic Victorian style and was built in 1872. Inside the neoclassical conservatory there are graceful arches lining the interior, many intertwined with climbing plants. Columns are decorated with warm-colored terracotta details. The browns of the walls and the greens of the plants mix together organically to create a relaxed yet delicate energy for the space. 

The gardens are an integral part of the estate. Each garden makes up part of a larger landscape garden that was designed by the renowned Capability Brown in 1761. In this design, he created a series of garden ponds, added a dairy, added a temple, and changed the kitchen garden into a romantic Italian garden incorporating the family coat of arms. The whole garden has been wrapped in a rainbow border and accompanied with a butterfly garden at the castle in recent years.