Renovations and Improvements in the Walled Kitchen Garden

Glasshouse Renovation Works (April 2017 - December 2017)

Glasshouses are by their very nature fragile structures.  Glass is easily broken and the metal or wood supporting the glass is usually minimal so that the maximum amount of light can reach the plants inside. The high humidity needed to grow plants rots timber and corrodes iron.

Throughout its one hundred year life span the Long Range has been restored several times, most recently in 2014 when extensive repairs were carried out on the east range and central conservatory.  Work has now finished to restore the five bays in the west range, as part of the 'Clumber Park Revitalised' project and thanks, in part, to the Heritage Lottery Fund.

  The process included:

- Careful removal and storage of glass panes

- Removal and replacement of timber glazing bars and capping pieces

- Filling/repairs of main glazing spars

- Painting of new and repaired timber

- Cleaning and refitting of glass panes

- Removal and replacement of wooden ventilation sashes

- Replacement of corroded metal work

Some stats:

2,016 panes of glass are being cleaned for re-use.  Their total surface area is 4,489 square feet.

The panes will be held with 8,064 metal pins and 4,032 straps.

126 wooden glazing bars and 42 capping pieces have been manufactured.  Their total length is 975 metres – nearly 1 kilometre.

Each glazing bar and capping piece is being painted four times, a total length of 3.9 kilometres.  This would be more than enough to paint a 4ins wide continuous white line along Clumber’s Lime Tree Avenue, which is a mere 3.2 kilometres long.

“The Long Range is one of Clumber’s iconic features and a firm favourite with our visitors." - Chris Margrave, Head Gardener

Pathways Improvement Works - Winter 2017 - Spring 2018)

During the Winter of 2017/Spring of 2018, we will be working hard to replace all wooden edging on paths within the Walled Kitchen Garden with much more durable metal edging.

All of the paths will be resurfaced too, with the top 40mm taken away and replaced with a surface similar to our paths within the Pleasure Grounds.

Not only will this make it much easier for our dedicated gardeners when it comes to edging and mowing, it will also greatly improve visitor accessibility, with much smoother and durable pathways.

The longevity of the paths will be vastly improved also by the works.