Unlike in other countries, conservatories have always been popular in the UK, even if their sizes, shapes and designs have changed significantly over the past few centuries.
From the grand country house Great Conservatories of the 19th century to the UPVC solariums of the mid-20th century and the highly advanced luxury extensions found today, conservatories have always had a place in British homes since the concept made its way to the UK.
Because of this, there are more options for conservatory designs, maintenance and repairs in Britain than can typically be found elsewhere, but to understand why, it is important to understand how the conservatory brings together two Great British passions: gardening and social affairs.
From The Seed Of An Orange
The conservatory as a concept predates the significant use of glass that would be characteristic of modern designs, but instead originated from a very similar type of garden building known as an orangery.
Whilst orangeries today tend to be very similar to conservatories, early designs were purely designed to be sheltered for tropical trees and plants that originated closer to the Mediterranean.
They first came into being in the 1500s as a means to make it possible to grow citrus trees further north. As lemons and oranges became more popular, they became more lucrative to sell to wealthier court clientele north of Provence.
Over time, these buildings expanded in scope from wind and weather-resistant sheds to increasingly elaborate and glazed structures, which ultimately culminated with the first great conservatory constructed in the only building of the 17th century audacious enough to attempt it.
A Conservatory Fit For A King
The Palace of Versailles is one of the most important buildings in the modern history of conservatories due to its contributions to glazing technology seen in the utterly opulent Hall of Mirrors, but it was also the site of one of the first ever prototype conservatories.
The ornate Garden of Versailles would become home in 1663 to a vast indoor garden known as the Orangery.
Whilst not the first orangery ever made, it was one of the first that was designed around the same kind of needs a conservatory is today; not only did it house and protect plants too tender for the outdoor gardens, it also served as a place to entertain guests and delight them with the smell of fresh oranges.
As with a lot of the innovative excesses of the Palace of Versailles and the Ancien Regime more broadly, it would spread from there to the various courts of Europe, many of which followed the design concept of a single glazed south-facing wall that provided as much sunlight as was possible at that time.
Bringing Orangeries To Britain
By the 18th century, the British love of gardening was well-established, and so it was perhaps surprising that it would take as long as it did for the conservatory to reach English shores.
The first of these was believed to be The Orangery at Burghley House, originally constructed around 1756 by the celebrity landscape gardener Capability Brown.
Whilst the country house itself was constructed in the 16th century, its biggest remodellings came about in the mid-18th century, which included the landscape garden and Orangery.
In some respects, this was one of the last major conservatory designs using the old method, as the Industrial Revolution forwarded the development of increasingly capable steel and glass to the point that both could be used to create grand conservatory designs in themselves.
Before the construction of the Palm House, Kew Gardens featured one of the largest classical orangeries ever made, and the designs shifted from the practical pursuit of growing citrus fruits to providing a place for people to luxuriate in the beauty of nature.
The Fall Of The Orangery And The Rise Of The Conservatory
By the end of the 18th century, however, the classical orangery quickly fell out of favour, as whilst the design allowed for enough light and shelter for oranges, it did not provide the solarium-style atmosphere that would come to be the standard for modern conservatories.
Some orangeries were modified to incorporate glass roofs, such as at Dyrham Park in Gloucestershire, whilst others were left to languish or were even demolished in favour of conservatory designs.
This would spark a golden age of conservatories, aided by the development of the Palm House at Kew Gardens, but it is somewhat ironic that in the 21st century, a lot of conservatories are being modified to remove or shelter their glass roofs, reversing a trend that began in the early 1800s.
However, this also proves the enduring popularity of conservatories, as outside of the first half of the 20th century, where wartime demands led to the end of many early conservatories, they have constantly been desired by homeowners and built by contractors.