Conservatories

42 Garden Fountain with Fairy and Urn
Make this splendid fountain the centerpiece in your garden! Water flows from an urn held by a fairy maid, cascading down through open blossoms into a scallop-edged bowl.

Four Lion Sculptural Fountain
An investment in European-style cast stone We first viewed this classic fountain in a charming Italian village, a timeless centerpiece, water flows from stately lions on each side of its textured column and bubbles from its delicate finial top to create a symphony of water, style and sound. Each heavyweight fountain is hand-poured and finished with pride by an Italian family using Old World techniques. It is the most meticulously crafted, durable, hand-cast stone fountain available here or abroad. Ready to install with easy to follow instructions, it comes engineered with a recirculating, indoor/outdoor, UL-listed pump. Ships in 4 pieces. Curbside delivery only.

Garden Cart - Garden Tool Cart - Wheelbarrow - Outdoor Cart

Medium “Mermaid of the Isle of Capri”

Potted Campanula Plants
Send potted campanula plants and other potted flowers from ProFlowers

Royalty Gladiolus Collection

The English Heritage Collection: ©King’s Arms Pub
Inspired by the quaint architecture of his home village in Northern England, the artist replicated incredible detail into a stunningly collectible series of buildings straight from Britain’s rich heritage. Not a miniature, but a substantial, architecturally accurate replica, nothing but the charming occupants are left to the imagination. From the roof thatch to the multi-hued brickwork, Dickinson has outdone himself, even foiling the interiors for illumination should you choose to add your own low voltage lighting to shine through the windows! Cast in quality designer resin and hand-painted for long-lasting beauty in home or garden.

The English Heritage Collection: ©St. Michael’s Church
Inspired by the quaint architecture of his home village in Northern England, the artist replicated incredible detail into a stunningly collectible series of buildings straight from Britain’s rich heritage. Not a miniature, but a substantial, architecturally accurate replica, nothing but the charming occupants are left to the imagination. From the arched doors to the multi-hued brickwork, Dickinson has outdone himself, even foiling the interiors for illumination should you choose to add your own low voltage lighting to shine through the windows! Cast in quality designer resin and hand-painted for long-lasting beauty in home or garden.

Back to Gardening Home

Translate This Page:

History of the Conservatory

by Charles Turner

Before we begin to delve into the history of conservatories, we should know what a conservatory is in the first place. One of the modern definitions is 'A building that is attached to another building and which has more than 75 per cent of the roof and more than 50 per cent of the wall areas as translucent material'. Conservatory derives its name from the Italian term "conservato" meaning stored or preserved, and Latin "ory" meaning a place for. Combining both these terms, we get what we call as 'conservatory'- a non-glazed structure used for storing food. However, today it is more commonly a glazed structures used as an additional living room to relax in.

The history of conservatories dates back to some Roman attempts to provide structures, which let in the light but kept out the cold. These structures were primarily made out of sheets of mica instead of glass. Conservatories first showed their appearance in the 17th century, but their designs were as different from a modern conservatory as chalk and cheese. The earliest known conservatories were no more than simple structures of stone. These stone structures were more glazed than those buildings that they had connection with. The upper echelons of society like, the nobility, the scientific community, and the landowners used these conservatories to protect their plants. That was a time of great discovery when naturalists brought plants from all over the world to be grown in the colder climes. Thus, it was imperative that such plants were protected from the exigencies of nature.

Records suggest that the conservatory in the Oxford Botanic garden was the first conservatory ever constructed in Britain. Conservatories became more popular in the late 19th century. There were several reasons associated with this. One of the primary reasons was that there was a tax levied on the weight of the glass in England. It was abolished in 1845, and there was a significant increase in the construction of conservatories in England. Literature and history have kept up-to-date records of the development of conservatories. There is mention of a great conservatory built in 1842 in Queen Victoria's diary. It has been told that it was the most astonishing and bizarre creation that was created.

Most people have a desire to enjoy the benefits of a garden within the comforts of the house; to make conservatories part of our every day life. A fact that stares us in the face is that style should never erode functionality. Moreover, affordability is also becoming an important criterion that dictates the kind of conservatory construction that takes shape. This is evident from the fact that over time people has given wrought iron and glass a miss and has gravitated towards aluminum, polycarbonate, and PVC. The history of conservatories is comprehensive and cannot be condensed. To conclude, conservatories are the greatest gardening inventions ever.

About the Author

By visiting the author's website at http://www.oakconservatories.co.uk you will find useful information for about oak hardwood conservatories. Learn more about history of conservatory.

¬ Back To Top