Orangery at Hampton Court Palace
Conservatory design and orangery design are often influenced by historic architecture, as are the gardens around them. The Lower Orangery Garden at Hampton Court Palace has recently been reopened after extensive restoration based on twenty years of research.
To restore the gardens to their 17th century splendour, the Gardens and Estates team and curators at Hampton Court Palace went through old account ledgers to see what plants had been purchased at the time, plant lists, maps, other documents and undertook archaeological digs to confirm the exact lay out of the garden.
The exotics used in the replanting were collected and propagated with the help of the Royal Botanic Gardens, local nurseries and British and European suppliers.
In winter the beds are spare and sculptural with carefully shaped trees such as yews, juniper, holly and box. In spring a riot of tulips, narcissus, hyacinths, daffodils, auriculas and polyanthus bloom beneath the trees. In the summer, exotic plants from the greenhouses are used displayed in a selection of replica containers and pots similar to those Queen Mary had specially made to showcase her exotics, which generated as much interest as the unusual plants themselves.
With the work complete, the Lower Orangery Garden is now as it was when William III and Mary II created it in the 1690’s.
It is an achievement of international importance because the garden is the only 17th century example of its kind in the world displaying exotics in this manner.
The story began in 1689 when William and his wife Mary acceded to the throne as joint sovereigns. Hampton Court Palace was a favourite home and there they began assembling one of the finest botanical collections in the world.
Queen Mary was especially fond of exotic plants from the Mediterranean, Virginia and the New World and her collection made them fashionable with other members of the aristocracy. Her collection had more than 2,000 different species including 1,000 orange trees (the symbol of the House of Orange dynasty from which William descended). So large was the collection it needed a full time botanist, Dr Leonard Plukenet, Royal Professor of Botany to maintain and document it.
William and Mary’s enjoyment of the garden was short lived. Mary died in 1694 and William in 1702 and although the collection was maintained, subsequent monarchs no longer used Hampton Court as a Royal residence and many of the plants were moved to Kew. Remnants of the collection survived, and there is evidence of orange trees being displayed at Hampton Court Palace into the early 20th century. The collection finally died out during the First World War, as the war effort and lack of manpower meant relevant care and attention was not available.
Two hundred years after the reign of William and Mary, architects copied the Orangery at Hampton Court for their design of the Verandah Caf? on the famous liner Mauritania. Launched in September 1906 she made her maiden voyage in November 1907 and broke the record for the fastest Atlantic crossing on her return trip from New York to London. Apparently the Verandah Caf? offered, “ a sheltered position, which is amongst the most frequented of any portion of the ship. It is a favourite resort for afternoon tea or a quiet smoke.”
If you’re interested, here is a photograph of the Verandah Cafe inspired by the Hampton Court Orangery.
You can find out more about orangeries at our History of the Orangery.
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