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Conservatory Greater Kinross London Norfolk Perth Shropshire South Staffordshire Wales Resources
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Latest Conservatory Greater Kinross London Norfolk Perth Shropshire South Staffordshire Wales Information Thomas Albert Knight (1759-1838) published a paper in 1812, laying out his theories on the most efficient structure of glasshouses. Rather than designing them based on the style of existing orangeries, Knight proposed different arrangements with curving walls and roofs. His work supplemented the achievements of John Claudius Loudon (1782-1843), who studied growing techniques all over Europe and was an admirer of Thomas Jefferson. Elizabeth Rogers in her book Landscape Design, writes, "Experimenting with different shapes and structural techniques in his Bayswater garden, in 1816 Loudon invented a curvilinear sash bar of wrought iron. His experiments also led him to propose a 'ridge and furrow,' or double meridian, glazing system in which the glass panes of the conservatory were angled so as best to catch morning and afternoon light while preventing the scorching of leaves by the direct rays of the noondays sun ...and pulleys in the manner of Venetian blinds to gain a more desirable angle...or to let in fresh air and summer rain showers." (p.317) At Chatsworth, Paxton became chief gardener in 1826 at age 23. He built a great conservatory there, often considered as a prototype for the Crystal Palace. Devonshire wrote that when Paxton arrived at Chatsworth, he found, "...four pine-houses, bad; two vineries, which contained eight bunches of grapes; two good peach houses, and a few cucumber frames. There were no houses at all for plants..." All of this was to change in a very short time and gardens would never again be the same. By the early nineteenth century, tastes were evolving. In his outstanding work, Life in the English Country House, Mark Girouard writes, "The upper- and upper-middle classes had reached the stage of sophistication at which they could react against their own civilization and endeavour to go back to nature. They found nature both in the countryside, preferably in as wild a state as possible, and in man in the countryside, preferably in the supposedly unconstrained, passionate and pure state as presented in the myth or model for the Noble Savage....towards the end of the eighteenth century people began to feel that the main rooms of a house should be in touch with the outside world-not just by views through the windows, although increasing attention was paid to these, but also by means of having the rooms at ground level, with low-silled windows or actual French windows opening straight into the garden or on to the lawn. The rooms thus flowed out in the garden and correspondingly the garden made inroads into the house, in the form of vases and pots of flowers or occupied an entire room in the form of a conservatory attached to the home." (214) The regency era was truly the cusp of dramatic changes in science, technology, manufacture and democratic values. All of these changes can be seen in the very interesting and significant developments in conservatories and greenhouses. YOU MUST not be be misled by the beauty of Boca Raton, Florida, or The Harid Conservatory's state-of-the-art facility, small, full-scholarship enrollment, ideal living quarters, and enriched academic program. This is a tough school, based on methodology and dedicated to producing professional dancers. Harid Conservatory was established in 1987 through the gift of an anonymous donor, to provide professional training for gifted young dancers and musicians from the United States and abroad, selected through audition for full-tuition scholarships. The school offers a four-year curriculum that includes ballet, modern, character, and jazz dance; music studies; art and dance history; nutrition; kinesiology and Pilates-based conditioning; career-related seminars; and dance performance. One of the most famous of the Regency-era conservatories was built at Carlton House, the Prince of Wales' London residence, demolished in 1826-27, which had been redesigned for him by Henry Holland (1745-1806) in 1787. Over the years, the Prince worked hard, decorating and redecorating, to make it the most magnificent residence in Europe, and by some standards he succeeded, only to have it demolished when its position was judged obstructive to the grand design he and architect John Nash worked out to redesign large sections of London, which later were named Regent Street and Regent Park. The famous conservatory was added in 1807 of the newest construction techniques in cast iron columns and a fan vaulted ceiling supporting large glass spaces. The architect was Thomas Hopper (1776-1856) whose work was considered a tour de force. The conservatory opened into the gardens at one end. If one looked in the opposite direction, there was a clear view of the entire lower ground-floor range of rooms, at the mall level, opening into one another in this sequence from west to east: conservatory, ionic dining room, gothic dining room. As an aside, architect Hopper's subsequent commissions included the main dwellings at Gosford Castle, Northern Ireland, and Penrhyn Castle, Wales, among many others. He was particularly admired for his Normal Revival style. The Carlton House conservatory was intentionally theatrical, as some writers observed, over the top and bringing the term "elaborate" to a new level. The Prince Regency planned a great fete for 2,000 people on June 19, 1811,to celebrate his Regency. The supper table was 200 feet long, the entire length of the Ionic Dining Room and the Gothic conservatory. Men were dressed, according to J. B. Priestly in his The Prince of Pleasure and His Regency (1969), in their court dress or uniforms. Down the middle of the entire length of the table ran a curving stream of water from a silver fountain in front of the Prince. Its path was lined with flowers, mossy banks and crossed by miniature bridges. Goldfish swam up and down this tiny stream. Here is the account by John Ashton in Social England Under the Regency (1895) of the Prince Regent's conservatory and the party: "...the architecture of it is of the most delicate Gothic. The upper end was a kind of circular buffet surmounted by a Medallion, with the initials G.P.R. lined by festoons and antique draperies of pink and silver, and partly filled by mirrors, before which, on ornamented shelves, stood a variety of vases, candlesticks, &c. of the most gorgeous gold plate...In the front of the Regent's seat there was a circular basin of water, with an enriched Temple in the centre of it, from whence there was a meandering stream to the bottom of the table, bordered with green banks. Three or four fantastic bridges were thrown over it, one of them with a small tower upon it, which gave the little stream a picturesque appearance. It contained also a number of gold and silver fish. The excellence of design, and exquisiteness of workmanship could not be exceeded; it exhibited a grandeur beyond description; while the many and various purposes for which gold and silver materials were used were equally beautiful and superb in all their minute detail. To some extent, the terms greenhouse, glasshouse, hothouse, orangerie, pinery, and conservatory are used interchangeably, though each has a generally agreed upon specific meaning. Greenhouse or glasshouse obviously has a glass roof and walls. Hot houses have heating elements. Orangeries and pineries have floor-to-ceiling south-facing windows, usually with a roof of solid material. Conservatories are for enjoyment by people as well as the cultivation of plants. All these terms and the buildings they describe existed in regency England, mostly at royal palaces and the estates of the wealthy aristocracy. Leading architects of the time were engaged in building and improving them for conservatories, etc. had become the very epitome of modern design. The regency era, whether one confines the definition strictly to 1811-1820 or, more broadly, to the French Revolution to Victoria period 1789-1837, was truly a time of transition in enhanced plant cultivation indoors. When it began, traditional orangeries were popular and when it ended, rooms built of delicate iron ribs holding curvilinear walls and roofs of glass had captured the fancy of all society. In her book Regency Gardens, Mavis Batey writes, "There was a new connection between house and garden through conservatories and flower corridors; interior decoration and trellised verandahs complemented each other; fluted curtains, flowerstands and flouncing shrubberies matching the elegance of Regency costume." (p.5) Visited annually by approximately 400,000 people, the Assiniboine Park Conservatory offers 10 different displays a year in the Floral Display Gallery, including Orchid and Bonsai shows and a special Holiday Lights Display over the Christmas season. Dating from 1914, the Palm House exhibits a tropical jungle; visitors walk under a canopy of mature tropical trees and admire orchids selected from the Conservatory's extensive collection. The Garden Restaurant serves light meals and refreshments in a garden atmosphere. The original Assiniboine Park Conservatory was built in 1914. It is the oldest facility of its kind in Western Canada. In the style of 19th and early 20th century conservatories, the original Conservatory was composed primarily of glass (to admit maximum light) and supported by a framework of iron. Boston Conservatory - private institution in Boston, Mass. The conservatory was founded in 1867 and grants bachelor's and master's degrees in a variety of performing arts disciplines, including dance, music, opera, theater, voice, instruments, and music education. Students have numerous opportunities to gain performance experience through the conservatory's productions. The Romans, adept at channeling the waters and building for maximum comfort, had many schemes to enhance growing conditions for plants of all kinds. The Roman emperor Tiberius had a sort of greenhouse, called a Specularium, created with mica in small translucent flakes where we would today have glass. Tiberius, it is reported, needed a year-round supply of his favorite food: cucumbers!
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