Description

BRENTWOOD

TQ69SW THORNDON PARK
723-1/9/124 Orchard House with garden wall and
orchard wall

II

House and walls of conjoined garden and orchard. 1764. For
Lord Petre. House red brick with slate roof; walls red brick
with stone coping. House and garden wall 330m SW of Thorndon
Hall (qv) and contemporary with it. To S rectangular orchard
walls, 130m x 100m, main axis aligned SW-NE. Garden walls a
similar rectangle but smaller, 55m x 40m, set centrally
against N side on same axis. Centrally, in wall common to both
is Orchard House, of similar build. Also centrally on N side
of the garden wall is Garden House, originally of similar
build but considerably altered and now not of special
historical interest and not included in this listing.
Orchard wall: red brick, Flemish bond, some burnt headers,
4.2m high, opposed internal and external shallow buttresses at
5.7m intervals, battered at the top. Simple stone coping
which, on E and W sides is stepped down hill-slope, falling to
S in 16 steps. Corners curved, principal gateway with simple
piers at N end of W wall (some C19 rebuilding). Minor simple
doorways at N end of E wall and S end of W wall.
Orchard House: central in N wall, facing S. 3 window range, 2
storey, dentilled eave and central pediment, slate hipped
roof. Outer bays have C19 and C20 rebuilding and have ground
floor segment headed windows with glazing bars, 3x4 panes,
first-floor windows similar but straight headed. Centre bay,
first-floor window similar, segment headed, 3x4 panes. Ground
floor has blocked central doorway, now with segment headed
window with glazing bars, 4x4 panes. To E of house, C20
extension masking orchard wall, to W, segment headed doorway
through wall to garden to N, also C20 wide doorway with
sliding doors.
Garden wall: similar to orchard wall but without buttresses,
coping of shaped and sloping bricks, single stepping on W
side. Principal gateways at S ends of E and W walls. E one now
blocked with half-height wall. Piers have stone copings and
high included stone blocks (like imposts). 2 simple C20
doorways at NE angle, one in N and one in E walls. Symmetrical
in N wall, either side of Garden House are 2 brick
semicircular niches large enough for seats, walling thickened
round them, coped back to wall above. Round headed arches have
stone imposts and keystone. Niche to W now cut through by C20
doorway. Walling between niches and house reworked in C20,
also C20 flat roofed single-storey room on NW corner of
garden. S side of garden (facing N), C18 single storey brick
lean-tos, slate roofs. To W of centre, passage through,
doorway with stable doors, also two 3x3 paned metal casement
windows. To E of centre, 3 fixed C20 casement windows (some
rebuilding of the wall).
N rear elevation of Orchard House reflects S front, all
windows replaced in PVC casements, central door blocked with
segment headed window each side, 2x2 panes, single replacement
windows in each rebuilt end, E 4x2 panes, W 2x2 panes. First
floor, central segment headed window 3x3 panes. C20 red brick
extension to E end of house in similar segment headed style.

Listing NGR: TQ6137891592

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26491731

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Lancashire: Liverpool and the South-West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Northamptonshire: Buildings of England Series (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Essex: Buildings of England Series (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Georgian Style and Design for Contemporary Living
• 
  Gloucestershire 1: The Cotswolds: Cotswolds Pt. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Listed Buildings, Conservation Areas and Monuments