Conservatories & Glasshouses
Conservatories, glasshouses, orangeries and vineries in the Victorian and Edwardian tradition were built in timber or iron with slender sections, generous ventilation and a great deal of glass. The firms in this category restore surviving structures and design and build new ones for period settings. Restoration work usually turns on timber decay at cill and glazing bar level, corroded ironwork, and failed guttering and drainage. New work on a listed building or in a conservation area is judged on proportion, section and how the structure meets the historic elevation.
What this category covers
- Restoration of Victorian and Edwardian glasshouses and vineries
- Bespoke timber and metal conservatories and orangeries
- Repair of glazing bars, cills, ridges and ventilation gear
- Cast iron and steel frame repair and replacement sections
- Rainwater, drainage and heating details for glass structures
Hartley Botanic
Hartley Botanic has manufactured aluminium greenhouses and glasshouses at Greenfield near Oldham ...
JH Building Restoration Ltd
JH Building Restoration Ltd is a heritage restoration and refurbishment contractor based ...
Olde English Buildings
Olde English Buildings designs and builds oak-framed buildings, principally within the curtilage ...
Richmond Oak Glazed Extensions Ltd
Richmond Oak Glazed Extensions designs and installs bespoke orangeries, conservatories and garden ...
White Cottage Greenhouses
White Cottage Greenhouses designs and manufactures traditional glasshouses at its works in ...
Restoring or adding a glasshouse
Water is the usual cause of failure. Glazing bar rebates, cills and the junction with the base wall collect water, and blocked internal gutters and downpipes finish the job. A restoration that does not resolve drainage will fail again in the same places.
Keep the sections slender. The character of a period glasshouse comes from thin bars, large panes and a high proportion of glass. Modern sections sized for sealed units are heavier and immediately change the appearance, which is why timber and steel remain the usual choice for conservation work.
Do not forget ventilation. Original structures used ridge and side vents worked by gearing, and they are the reason the buildings functioned. Restoring the gear is usually possible, and any new structure needs equivalent ventilation or it becomes unusable in summer.
Treat a new conservatory as an extension. On a listed building it needs Listed Building Consent, and in most cases planning permission too. The junction with the historic elevation, how much original fabric is lost and whether the addition could be removed later are the points officers focus on.
Questions to ask
Can a Victorian glasshouse be repaired rather than rebuilt?
Frequently. Decay is usually concentrated in cills, glazing bar rebates and the base junction, and sound sections can be spliced and repaired. A survey should quantify how much of the original structure is recoverable before rebuilding is assumed.
Will I get consent for a conservatory on a listed building?
It depends on the elevation, the loss of historic fabric and the design. Additions to secondary elevations, lightly attached, of restrained design and reversible in principle, stand the best chance. Discuss it with the conservation officer before designing in detail.
Can period-style glasshouses take double glazing?
Some can, but sealed units are thicker and heavier, which pushes glazing bar sections wider and coarsens the appearance. On restoration work single glazing is usually retained; on new structures the trade-off between performance and proportion has to be settled early.
All 7 businesses listed under Conservatories & Glasshouses
- C N Glass Oxfordshire
- Hartley Botanic Greater Manchester
- JH Building Restoration Ltd Cambridgeshire
- Olde English Buildings Essex
- Richmond Oak Glazed Extensions Ltd East Sussex
- Thompson’s Group Wiltshire
- White Cottage Greenhouses Cheshire
Directory information is provided to help visitors identify potentially relevant specialists and suppliers. Inclusion does not constitute a recommendation, approval or guarantee by Tuscan Foundry Products. Please check current services, credentials, availability and suitability directly with each business.