Palm house is a term sometimes used for large and high heated display greenhouses that specialise in growing palms and other tropical and subtropical plants. In Victorian Britain , several ornate glass and iron palm houses were built in botanical gardens and parks, using cast iron architecture . Especially in English-speaking countries outside the British Isles , these are often called conservatories , in the UK mainly a term for small glass structures attached to houses.
17-577: The large example, completed in 1848 , in Kew Gardens , London was arguably the first greenhouse to be built on this scale. It was also the first large-scale structural use of wrought iron . The later Temperate House at Kew is in fact even larger. Other British examples are at Liverpool's Sefton Park and Stanley Park . Elsewhere there are the Franklin Park Conservatory in Columbus, Ohio ,
34-423: A large and open internal area. The Anthaeum, Hove was a very ambitious example, with a huge cupola -topped dome covering more than 1.5 acres (0.61 ha). It was planned by Henry Phillips as a visitor attraction by itself, with Amon Henry Wilds as the architect; both were local men from Brighton and Hove . However, it collapsed the day before its official opening in 1830. One of the earliest examples of
51-761: A palm house is located in the Belfast Botanic Gardens . Designed by Charles Lanyon , the building was completed in 1840. It was constructed by iron-founder Richard Turner , who would later build the Palm House at Kew in 1848, to a design by Decimus Burton ; this is 62 feet high and 362 long. This came shortly after the Chatsworth Great Conservatory (1837–40; 67 feet high and 277 long, demolished in 1920) and shortly before The Crystal Palace (1851), both designed by Joseph Paxton , and both now lost. Palm House, Kew Gardens The Palm House
68-890: Is a large palm house in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew , in London, that specialises in growing palms and other tropical and subtropical plants. It was completed in 1848. Many of its plants are endangered or extinct in the wild. Features include an upper walkway, taking the visitor into the branches of the larger plants. Kew also has the even larger " Temperate House ", kept at lower temperatures. Initially built as status symbols in Victorian Britain , several examples of ornate glass and iron greenhouses , often but not always called "the Palm House", can still be found in botanical gardens and parks such as Liverpool 's Sefton Park and Stanley Park , and in other countries. The Palm House
85-596: The Muttart Conservatory in Alberta ( c. 1976 ) and Eden Project in England are respectively examples of these shapes. The term "palm house" tends not to be used, though the function of the buildings remains the same. The palm house was a stage in the 19th-century development of glass and iron architecture, which was also widely used in railway stations, markets, exhibition halls, and other large buildings needing
102-652: The Royal Greenhouses of Laeken in Brussels, the Palmenhaus Schönbrunn in Vienna, and many others. The rounded shapes of Kew were often followed in the 19th century. Parts of the iron technology there were borrowed from shipbuilding , so the resemblance of many designs to upturned ships in not entirely coincidental. In the 20th century some pyramidal designs and geodesic domes were adopted. The "Tropical Pyramid" at
119-479: The Palm House to the Building News . Thomas Drew also wrote to the Building News claiming "to have an authoritative statement from Turner...”" He claimed that "the Palm House was not only erected by him but was solely his design, although varied out under the supervision of Mr. Decimus Burton". In 1881, according to the "Report on The Process and Condition of The Royal Gardens at Kew", the flowerbeds in front of
136-481: The broad range of activities which the firm undertook. Turner entered the initial competition for designs for the London International Exhibition of 1851 and out of 233 entries was jointly awarded the second prize along with an entry by Hector Horeau. The final built design was "The Crystal Palace" by Joseph Paxton. Turner's premises from the 1830s was at Hammersmith Works, Ballsbridge . The site
153-470: The building were redone and gravel paths were removed. The flowers at the back of the Palm House and the low areas required modified drainage. The Palm House is host to the oldest pot plant in the world (an Encephalartos altensteinii ) which was moved to the Palm House in 1848. 51°28′45″N 00°17′34″W / 51.47917°N 0.29278°W / 51.47917; -0.29278 Richard Turner (iron-founder) Richard Turner (1798–1881)
170-693: The cost to the Board of Works. The Board of Works , in turn, asked Burton to review Turner's plans. Burton initially disagreed with Turner's original plans, which adopted the Gothic style he had used in his prior works. Burton preferred the Neoclassical style which informed the design of the Palm House. Burton did take notice of Turner's decisions over which plants should be planted where. Turner knew of greenhouses' "problems of heating, ventilation, and structural" issues. According to some accounts, Turner sent his plan of
187-537: The houses were known for their geometric fanlights. He married Jane Goodshaw in 1816, and the couple had at least 10 children. Turner earliest known curvilinear conservatory from 1833 at Colebrooke, County Fermanagh. In 1834, he set up the Hammersmith ironworks in Ballsbridge . It was from here that he made the lightest iron structures of the time using wrought iron ribs linked with cast iron tubes. One of his key patrons
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#1732847796473204-1011: Was Ninian Niven, the director of the National Botanic Gardens at Glasnevin. Turner built the east side of the Palm House for the Gardens in 1834, and potentially the miniature version which is attached to Niven's house in Monkstown. Turner designed and constructed the railway sheds at Westland Row and at the Broadstone in Dublin, and Lime Street in Liverpool, but also turned his hand to the design and manufacture of railings, boilers, cisterns and bedsteads. His entry in Thom’s directory for 1849 describes him as ‘manufacturer of wrought-iron gates, railway conservatories, hothouses etc., and hot water engineer’, indicating
221-731: Was an Irish iron founder and manufacturer of glasshouses , born in Dublin . He is rated as one of the most important glasshouse designers of his time. His works included the Palm House at Kew Gardens (with Decimus Burton ), the glasshouse in the Winter Gardens at Regent's Park in London , the Palm House at Belfast Botanic Gardens and the Curvilinear Range at the Irish National Botanic Gardens , Glasnevin , Ireland. Turner
238-507: Was appointed Director of the Royal Botanic Garden at Kew in 1841. As part of his plan to improve its image, Sir William asked Decimus Burton to draw up preliminary sketches of a new Palm House for review in 1844. Decimus and Nicole Burton completed the design, although Richard Turner was primarily involved. It was built between 1844 and 1848. After an interview with Sir William, Turner submitted his plans along with an estimate of
255-437: Was born in Dublin around 1798, the son of a merchant Timothy Turner and Catherine (née Sissons). Both his grandfather and great-grandfather were also ironsmiths, the elder of which worked on the provost's house at Trinity College, Dublin . Turner inherited the ironworks from his uncle, also named Richard Turner. Turner became a property speculator, building houses on Pembroke Road, Leeson Street and Rathmines Road in Dublin. All of
272-424: Was later owned by the building firm G&T Crampton until 1963, and is now the site of Hume House offices. In Samuel Lewis’s 1837 Topographical Dictionary of Ireland , he describes the new Hammersmith Works as part of the entry for ‘Ball’s-Bridge’ as follows: ‘Near the village are the Hammersmith iron-works, established in 1834 by Mr. R. Turner: the front of this extensive establishment is 200 feet long, presenting
289-406: Was the first greenhouse to be built on this scale. It was also the first large-scale structural use of wrought iron . One of the earliest examples of a palm house is located in the Belfast Botanic Gardens . Designed by Charles Lanyon , the building was completed in 1840. It was constructed by the iron-maker Richard Turner , who would later build the Palm House at Kew . Sir William J. Hooker
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