BESPOKE CONSERVATORIES & ORANGERIES

History of the Orangery

The fashion for owning an orangery began early in the 17th century in Holland and was enthusiastically taken up by the nobility in England who wanted orangeries of their own. At the end of the 16th century, relationships between the two nations were close; they had been allies against the Habsburgs and had cooperated in defeating the Spanish Armada in 1588. England had supported the Dutch in the Eighty Years' War by sending money and troops and during this time there was a permanent English representative in the Dutch government to ensure coordination of the joint war effort.

With such friendly relationships, there is little surprise that the novelty of an orangery crossed the North Sea before the 1st Anglo-Dutch war started in 1652 and diplomatic and trading relations were severed.

The Earliest Orangeries

However, the history of the orangery predates this and the earliest orangeries were probably Italian or French. There is a record of flowers being grown in a glass pavilion facing south in France as far back as 1385. But this was not exactly a new concept; the Romans had built rudimentary greenhouses out of mica to force cucumbers.

However, it was the establishment of the first European Botanical Gardens in 1544 at the University of Pisa and in 1545 at Padua, coupled with the growth in botanical studies and the age of exploration, that really encouraged the beginnings of orangeries and protected gardening.

Orange As A Word

This development ties in with the introduction of the word for an “orange” into European languages. “Orange” is derived from Sanskrit and its first appearance in the English language dates back to the 14th century. At the same time, Portuguese traders introduced sweet oranges into Europe having brought them from India. These sweet oranges quickly replaced the bitter ones that were cultivated at the time.

Before the English-speaking world was familiar with the fruit, the colour we now call orange was referred to in Old English as geoluhread, which translates into Modern English as yellow-red. It wasn’t until 1542 that the use of the word as a colour, as derived from the fruit, made an appearance in English. It is likely that this adoption of the word to describe a colour is tied to the popularity of the orange as a fruit, initially known to merchants and royalty, together with their servants and later to the masses.

A century later, oranges were becoming a familiar fruit to the general population. Nell Gwyn and her sister Rose had been hired in 1663 by Mary Meggs, a former prostitute with the nickname “Orange Moll”, as "orange-girls", selling the small, sweet "china" oranges to the audience for a sixpence, inside what is now the Theatre Royal in Drury Lane in London’s Covent Garden.

The Earliest English Orangery

The first English Orangery was built for Sir Francis Carew for the garden of his home in Beddington, Surrey in about 1580. Sir Francis was a keen gardener and it is probable that friends returning from overseas visits supplied orange seeds to him.

The seedlings were raised in pots until hardy enough to be planted in open ground and then preserved in winter by a moveable covering; a sort of portable orangery.

In August 1599, Queen Elizabeth I visited Sir Francis and stayed for three days, so she may have seen and even tasted the oranges. The orange trees flourished for over 100 years and it wasn’t until the winter of 1739 that they were destroyed by The Great Frost that lasted from Christmas Day until 17th February in the new year.

Orangeries In The 17th Century

The fruit was known and importation of the trees was not far behind. Merchants began to import orange trees, perhaps as novelty to show off their wealth, from Southern Italy together with other citrus trees, banana plants and pomegranates. None of these would survive a Northern European winter so gardeners had to find ways of protecting the plants and in due course the first orangeries were constructed.

The orangeries were built with south facing glass windows to let in the maximum amount of afternoon sunlight. The windows would have been made with leaded glass and as glass was still blown by hand, the largest flat pieces that could be made would have been approximately 4 inches by 6 inches (10 cms x 15 cms). These windows were set into brick walls while those that faced north were thick and solid to protect against wind and cold.

Plants were grown in tubs so that they could be moved outside in the summer and to allow this tall and wide double doors were necessary. The windows and the doors of the conservatories would have been opened to let in warmth and air when the weather was mild.

To ensure the survival of sensitive plants in Northern European winters insulation was essential. Straw would often be used to insulate the roof and shutters put across the windows at night. On really cold days and nights coal braziers would be used to warm the orangery although care had to be taken with ventilation and damage to the plants from fumes.

Only the wealthiest families, or well-endowed universities could afford the substantial cost of maintaining their collections of rare and unusual plants through cold Northern winters.

One of the richest families in Europe at the time was that of Fugger in Germany. They had built a conservatory in 1535 and perhaps they were a link in the march of the orangery northwards to the Netherlands and England.

Hendryck van Oosten was the gardener at the Hortus Botanicus in Leiden, the oldest botanical garden in the Netherlands and one of the oldest in the world having been established in around 1590. In 1703 he published The Dutch Gardener, in which he wrote an account of the nursing of lemon and orange trees in northern climates saying:

"There is not a Plant or Tree, that affords such extensive and lasting pleasure; for there is not a Day in the Year when Orange-Trees, may not, and indeed ought not, to afford matter of Delight: whether it be in the Greenness of their Leaves, or in the Agreeableness of their Form and Figure, or in the pleasant Scent of their Flowers, or in the Beauty and Duration of their Fruit."

Orangeries In The 18th Century

Perhaps it was this that persuaded Queen Anne to build her orangery at Kensington Palace in London in 1704-5. Queen Anne had come to the throne in 1702 on the death of William III; also known as William III of Orange He was a Dutch aristocrat and had plants imported from around the world.

The design of the Kensington Palace orangery is attributed to Nicholas Hawksmoor and was modified by Sir John Vanbrugh. The magnificent interior was decorated with panelling, 24 Corinthian columns, all painted white and Grinling Gibbons woodcarvings. It still retains its original Portland stone terrace. The estimated cost was £2,599, but this had more than doubled by the time work was completed. (Today an orangery will cost you a little more, but we can guarantee that the price will not double during construction!)

The Orangery at Kew was built in 1761. At the time it was the largest glasshouse in Britain 92 feet long by 33 feet deep (28 m x10 m), and though it was designed as an arcade with end pavilions to winter oranges, the light levels were too low under its solid roof for it to be successful.

At this time larger glass panes started to become available up to sizes 10 inches x 16 inches (25cm x 40cm). In 1737 glazing putty was first made in The Netherlands from chalk and linseed oil and this enabled panes to be more weather proof and provided greater insulation than the leaded windows made up of smaller panes used previously. There had also been concerns that lead was toxic to plants, so the use of putty became more prevalent.

The Renaissance of the Orangery

During the 19th century, some orangeries had sophisticated under floor-heating systems. But the popularity of the orangery was declining. They needed to be located in large gardens with an uninterrupted south-facing aspect. This meant they were generally separated from the main house, while a conservatory could be connected to the property and the contents displayed more readily for the benefit of the family and their visitors. The tax on glass was also abolished in 1845 and in 1851 the building of the Crystal Palace for the Great Exhibition fired the enthusiasm for conservatories.

Today the word "Orangery" is applied more generally and usually refers to a building with glazed sides, built on a brick or wood support, with a partially glazed roof. It will usually be attached to the main house and used as room and not just for plants. They differ from a conservatory principally because there is less glass used in their construction.

Many of the 18th & 19th century orangeries have been restored and are now used as restaurants or places of entertainment. This is exactly how their modern counterparts are being used today as extensions to hotels, restaurants and private homes. This has been made possible by the emergence of a new wave of technology including double-glazing, self-cleaning glass, solar glass and under floor electric heating that just costs pennies to run. All these features make orangeries easier and cheaper to maintain and heat today and this together with their stylish good looks and elegance has helped the growth in their popularity.

Some Notable and Interesting Orangeries

The orangery at Margam Park is listed Grade I as one of the finest classical buildings in Wales.

At Kew Gardens the orangery built in 1761 is the largest classical style building in the Gardens.

The orangery at Kenwood House dates from about 1750.

Orangery in the National Botanic Garden of Belgium built around 1860.

One of the two largest Baroque orangeries (the other is at Versailles) in the world can be found at Schoenbrunn in Austria.

A charming Georgian Orangery at Heveningham Hall in Suffolk.