The gardens at The National Trust’s Peckover House in Wisbech will soon be benefiting from a new greenhouse.
Work will start this Winter on the £150,000 project to replace the old Propagation House with a new profile-moulded aluminium greenhouse system, designed and built to modern conservation standards.
Any gardener knows how essential a greenhouse is for an ongoing supply of plants through the year. The existing Propagation House at Peckover dates from 1955, and was made of poor quality soft wood. It is now in such bad condition that it is structurally unsound and cannot be used for horticultural purposes, which has a major impact on the work of the gardening team.
The team at Peckover House has worked hard for five years to raise money for this essential project. The majority of the money has come from The National Trust Projects fund, but the property has raised some of the sum through sales in its second hand bookshop.
Allison Napier, Head Gardener at Peckover, can’t wait for the new Greenhouse:
'At Peckover we propagate a large percentage of the plants used in the garden. For several years we have had to utilise some of the space in the Orangery for propagation. The new glasshouse will enable us to put back the full decorative display in the Orangery for visitors to enjoy.'
Nigel Houghton, Building Surveyor for The National Trust in the East of England, oversees the project and explains:
'We looked at the possibility of repairing the existing Prop House and Fernery, although neither are listed structures. As it turned out the costs for doing so were significantly higher than for a new build aluminium system which will more than meet the gardeners’ requirements. Although it is a modern product, the end result will reflect the proportions and symmetry of its Victorian predecessor.'
The structure will be designed and built by Alitex, a company which works closely with The National Trust to deliver glasshouse solutions.
Allison added:
'The completion of this project will mean we can open up the working area of the garden to visitors once again. The Prop house, cold frames and compost heaps were always popular, and soon people will enjoy a behind-the-scenes look at the workings of our garden once again.'
The demolition and rebuild of the Prop House will be captured in a series of line drawings by local artist Mary Rodgers. Mary exhibited a series of highly detailed floral paintings at Peckover in 2006. It is hoped to exhibit these new drawings at Peckover next year.
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