Garden History – Innovation of Glass Houses

Time for more gardening history! Last time we learned about the Landscape Movement that originated in Europe in the eighteenth century, and flourished in Great Britain (see Garden History – Landscape Movement). Toward the end of the eighteenth century, the Industrial Revolution ushered in significant technological and social change in Britain. In this series, we’ll explore some of the technical innovations that changed the face of landscape gardening. As always, I refer to The Story of Gardening (Penelope Hobhouse), and The History of Gardens (Christopher Thacker).

Glass Houses

Glass houses (also called green houses, stove houses, orangeries, and so forth) are structures with roof and walls made of a transparent material in which plants live in a regulated climate. Orangeries were used in the sixteenth century to house citrus trees grown in pots, which could be moved outside during the warm season, and inside during the cold months. Orangeries evolved into glass houses for tender plants and trees brought back by explorers from around the world. They were frequently built on grand estates, or universities. Regulating light and heat was a common problem.

In 1826, Joseph Paxton (1803 – 1865) became the head gardener at Chatsworth in Derbyshire, England at age 23. He was interested in glass houses, and began experimenting with the idea of “forcing frames” to create large spaces without supporting walls, and using a “ridge and furrow” roof design to support plates of glass set at angles. Using these design principles, he built a glass house from 1836 – 1840 to house a giant water lily brought back from the Amazon. The lily leaf structure of radiating ribs connected with flexible cross-ribs also inspired him. Through his projects with iron, glass, and wood, Paxton became a recognized authority on constructing glass houses.

Crystal Palace at Hyde Park for the Great Exhibition of 1851 (from Dickinson's ''Comprehensive Pictures of the Great Exhibition of 1851"). Public domain.

In 1845 the glass tax was abolished in Great Britain (the 300% tax had been introduced in 1746 by King George II to retire wartime debt). In 1848 the cast plate glass method was developed making it possible to produce large sheets of cheap but strong glass.

Ridge and furrow roof design (engraving by George Measom, 1818-1901). Public domain.

Paxton designed the Crystal Palace at Hyde Park for the Great Exhibition of 1851. His design was based on the largest size of glass sheet available at the time (10” by 49”); the new concept of prefabricated glass and wrought iron frames assembled on site; and the ridge and furrow roof design. The work crew assembled the building (848 feet long x 408 feet wide x 108 feet high) in eight months, for a fairly low price. The Crystal Palace was moved to Sydenham in 1854, and destroyed by fire in 1936.

Crystal Palace interior (unknown, scan from a book by Royal Horticultural Society, Lindley Library). Public domain.

Although the Crystal Palace was used as an exhibition hall instead of a conservatory, its innovations were implemented in many grand conservatories, functional nurseries, and domestic greenhouses to follow.