CORPORATION PARK
BLACKBURN LANCASHIRE

SUPPORTERS GROUP
 

The Grade 11 listed Victorian Palm House Conservatory




Corporation Park is registered by English Heritage as a Grade 11* Park and Garden of Special Historic Interest.
The Conservatory is located by West Park Lodge off West Park Road.

It is a grade II listed building and was erected in 1900 in the Victorian era. It was a time of great exuberance, experimentation and exploration and an expanding British Empire brought new and exotic plants, ferns, fruits and vegetables. Large public glass houses allowed these exciting plants to be experienced by everyone and were particularly valued by the occupants of densely packed factory housing as was the case in Blackburn.
With the abolition of the glass tax in 1845 and window tax in 1851, the creation of magnificent glass and iron conservatories took off and Blackburn town officials saw their creation as a splendid symbol of achievement.
Our conservatory reflects this exuberance.
The building is all glass and iron, richly ornamented with arches, pierced spandrels and columns. There is a central rectangular portion which is gabled with a clock in the front pediment and it also has a central louvred chimney. 
The mid section was designed to house exotic flora, with the wings being cooler to house displays of plants enjoying a similar climate to our own.
The Conservatory in 2020


Please contact us if you have any suggestions for funding applications, or are a private investor who can assist in the restoration of this locally loved building



Extensive research indicates that this is probably the only surviving large scale example of the fine ornamental ironwork of the firm of Lockerbie and Wilkinson of Birmingham.
The only other smaller scale iron work by Lockerbie and Wilkinson still in existence can be found in Cleethorps, Lincolnshire at the mermaid cafe and former railway clock tower.

The bell tower in 2012
A close up of some of the intricate iron work in 2012
One of the main cloums rusting away in 2012
The conservatory in 2012
The conservatory over the years
Please go to this link for an ariel view of the conservatory https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsAaqnNOjCQ
An arial view of the conservatory in 2012
The clock and surrounding rusting intricate iron work in 2012
Some of the intricate iron work in 2012




Completed in early 1900 the Palm House is the centre-piece of Corporation Park a Grade II* listed town-centre park.
Located in a prominent position the conservatory is a fundamental element of the park’s built and cultural heritage.
It was originally commissioned by Blackburn Corporation as a grand and unique structure to symbolize the success and status of the town.