The orangery in England and America

Magazine Antiques, April, 1996 by Billie Sherrill Britz

The orangery was developed in the seventeenth century by northern European gardeners intent on the difficult task of maintaining citrus trees and other non-hardy plans in freezing weather. The earliest orangeries were simple masonry structures, not always completely enclosed, that protected the plants from the wind and provided a modicum of solar heat retained by the masonry. These structures quickly proved inadequate in the severe winters of northern Europe and were soon replaced by a distinct structure designed to maximize solar heating. This new type set the standard for all future orangeries.

To function efficiently these conservatories had to be tall, narrow, enclosed masonry buildings with a heavy, opaque roof and an unbroken north wall [ILLUSTRATION FOR FIGURE 1 OMITTED]. Long, wide windows facing south provided adequate sunlight and ventilation for the plants and allowed the north wall to be heated by the sun. Interior or exterior shutters were added to trap the heat within the building at night or on windy, sunless days. These early orangeries were designed merely to maintain the temperature above freezing, and were not intended to be warmed by artificial heat. When it was required, artificial heat was provided by pans of burning charcoal. More advanced orangeries eventually were built with flues in the floor and/or north wall, which drew heat from fires in an adjoining room. However, seventeenth- and eighteenth-century English gardening books vigorously warn against using artificial heat except in the coldest weather, so it was not unusual for several winters to pass before heat was provided.

In the beginning of the seventeenth century orangeries were plain buildings situated in the working part of the estate, hidden from the pleasure garden. The aristocracy of England and northern Europe, however, recognized their potential as places for entertaining. As early as 1696 the author of On Fruit Trees wrote:

Greenhouses are of late built as ornaments to gardens (as summer and banqueting houses were formerly) as well as for conservatories for tender plants, and when the curiosities in the summer time are dispersed in their proper places in the garden the house (being accommodated for that purpose) may serve as an entertaining room.(1)

At the time greenhouse and orangery were interchangeable terms, and reference is to an orangery-type structure.

The extraordinary botanical interests and wealth of the aristocracy caused the once-simple orangery to become a significant architectural form. No expense was spared to build them since they would be an elegant setting for both botanical treasures and social activities. In England during the eighteenth century orangeries were designed by such renowned architects as Robert Adam (Bowood in Wiltshire), Sir John Vanbrugh (Kensington Palace in London), and Sir William Chambers (Kew Gardens; see Pls. I, II). Behind neoclassical exteriors, utilitarian interiors were transformed into magnificent sunlit rooms of carefully conceive proportions with gracefully arched windows, and, in some instances, marble floors, classical statues, and murals.

The newly elegant orangery became a major feature of the pleasure garden, built within easy walking distance of the main house and, sometimes, built onto the house itself. In winter it was a sheltered walkway where the owner and his guests could enjoy the scent and beauty of the plants and, with luck, sunshine. In summer, with the plants removed, the orangery became a room in which to entertain. But no matter how elaborate, the orangery remained in essence a sophisticated interpretation of the original utilitarian building.

The zenith of its refinement and popularity occurred during the second half of the eighteenth century when American gardeners became interested in adding an orangery to their plantations. By that time the thirteen colonies were no longer totally involved with taming the wilderness, and the letters and diaries of Americans reveal their sincere and widespread interest in plant culture beyond agricultural practicalities.

There is evidence of the existence of early American plant houses from massachusetts to South Carolina, but the type adapted from the English orangery is centered in the Tidewater regions of Maryland and Virginia. Undoubtedly, the major factor was the less rigorous climate of the South. Another reason was that the plantations of this region most closely emulated the English country estate in architectural style and garden design. But just as English Georgian architecture was adapted to suit American conditions, the American orangery was less extravagant in scale and detail than its English counterpart. The examples for which there is documentary or physical evidence are most frequently on plantations that were the showplaces of their age. Although there is ample evidence that the owners of smaller estates indulged in many luxuries, orangeries were not among them, perhaps because the continual supervision of the orangery proved too great a demand on the average working plantation in America.