Back sheds
The sheds behind the glasshouse were the powerhouse and administrative centre of the kitchen garden. Here, hidden from view, the gardeners carried out their varied and essential jobs under the watchful eye of the Head Gardener, William Brough. Deliveries arrived, produce was sent out; tools were cleaned, sharpened and repaired; tender plants were nurtured and precious seeds stored, in rooms warmed from the heat of the glasshouse boilers.
Tending the glasshouse
The glasshouse’s high roof allowed for the cultivation of palms and other large exotic specimens, newly arrived in the country via the exploits of plant hunters. The fruits and plants housed in the glasshouse were rare and newly discovered; brought to this country by plant hunters travelling the world.
Keeping these fragile plants alive required careful tending and clever technology. Pipes ran from a boiler, under the floor, heating the glasshouse to carefully controlled levels. Perfect for growing exotic plants, delicate fruits and the fresh grapes the gardener’s aspired to keep on the Greg family’s table all year round.
Keeping the boiler fed day and night was the job of the garden boys, some as young as 9 years old. To make sure they were always close by these boys lived in part of the backsheds; their few possessions kept close to their small beds.
The story of the restoration of the glasshouse and back sheds
The glasshouse restoration is part of the major £9.4million project currently taking place to transform Quarry Bank. Thanks to the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund, Wolfson Foundation and many generous donors the glasshouse is sparkling once again.
Neglected gem
The kitchen garden was in use until Ernest William Greg died in 1936 and the land was privately sold. The glasshouse was severely damaged through neglect before the National Trust was able to acquire it in 2010.
Restoration planning
Our plan was to fully return the glasshouse to its former glory, including rebuilding the previously demolished section of the west vinery. We didn’t have the original architectural plans but our National Trust experts and external architects and archaeologists carried out survey work and were able to piece together a clear understanding of how the building was created. We also used information in our archives including photographs, letters, diaries, maps and garden plant orders which meant that we could restore the structure and present it with a high degree of authenticity.
In October 2015, Armitage Construction were appointed as the main contractor and Dorothea Restorations as our architectural ironwork restorers. Almost immediately, the glasshouse frame was carefully dismantled piece by piece by Dorothea and taken to their workshop in Bristol. Over six months the engineers carried out painstaking work to the structure to make repairs, identify missing pieces and examine the extent of the damage.
The restoration of the cast iron frame took six months. The aim was to restore as much of the original fabric of the glasshouse as possible, but where pieces were too badly damaged new ones were precisely re-cast using moulds made from original pieces. The ironwork for these pieces was, surprisingly, sourced from melted down automotive brake discs. As an important safety component, vehicle manufacturers take great care to ensure brake discs are designed and manufactured to the highest possible quality. When they reach the end of their life on a vehicle, they can be recycled into iron for other purposes, such as Quarry Bank’s glasshouse frame.
Restoring the brickwork
Whilst the frame was in Bristol, another team of contractors were very busy on site repairing and preparing the brick and stone walls for the return of the frame. The brick walls remained extremely stable throughout the restoration and have been repointed and strengthened to support the new metal work.
The chimneys were rebuilt which would have taken away smoke from the boiler system used to heat the glasshouse.
Thanks to our archaeologists we have a good understanding of the heating and drainage methods that were used in the glasshouse. However, we don’t plan to employ children to sleep in the back sheds to keep the boiler stoked as the Greg family did! Instead we have installed an environmentally friendly biomass boiler which we will feed with woodchips, in line with the National Trust’s renewable energy strategy and target of sourcing 50% of our energy needs from renewable sources by 2020. The biomass boiler will enable the team at Quarry Bank to heat sections of the glasshouse, so that we can try to grow exotic plants and fruits such as grapes and peaches. The central chimney will be functional as part of this heating system.
Glazing
Once this work had taken place, our glaziers came to site and fitted over 7,500 panes of glass.
The glass itself was blown into large cylinders, half a metre long, which were slit down the middle whilst still soft to create large flat rectangles. These were then trimmed into individual panes. The central section was glazed first with specially shaped panes known as beavertails, followed by the glazing of the vineries.
Completion
The glasshouse restoration was completed in December 2016 and the team are now planting heritage variety vines. We can’t wait for you to enjoy the glasshouse on your next visit.
