Glasshouses

THE GLASSHOUSES IN THE BOTANIC GARDENS IN DUBLIN 3 MAY 2025

May 3, 2025 by infomatique

TODAY I USED A SONY FE 16-35MM F2.8 GM II LENS

Today I visited the Botanic Gardens in Dublin and at the end of May 2025 I hope to visit the Botanic Gardens in Belfast.

The National Botanic Gardens in Dublin, located in Glasnevin, boast a remarkable collection of beautifully restored and historically significant glasshouses. These structures are not only functional spaces for cultivating diverse plant collections but also represent significant achievements in Victorian engineering and design.

The most notable glasshouses in Dublin include:

The Curvilinear Range: Designed and largely constructed by the celebrated Dublin ironmaster Richard Turner and his son, this long, low range of iron and glass with its distinctive curved roof was built in stages from the 1840s. It’s considered one of the most important buildings in the Gardens and a fine example of Turner’s innovative style. Its central dome was once featured on Irish stamps.
The Great Palm House: Erected in 1884 to replace an earlier structure damaged by a storm, the ironwork for this impressive house was fabricated in Glasgow. Faithfully restored in the early 2000s, it is the tallest structure in the Gardens and houses a diverse collection of tropical plants.

The Orchid House: Reflecting the historical importance of orchid cultivation in Glasnevin (where orchids were first grown to flowering stage from seed in Ireland in the 1840s), this house was restored alongside the Palm House.

The Victoria Waterlily House: Designed and built in 1854, this house was specifically created to display the then-botanical sensation, Victoria amazonica, the giant Amazon waterlily.

The Alpine House: Home to a collection of plants from mountainous regions around the world.
The Cactus and Succulent House: Currently housing the cactus and succulent collection while their original house undergoes restoration.

The Teak House: A later addition, known for hosting the annual Orchid Fair.
Many of these glasshouses, particularly the Turner Curvilinear Range and the Great Palm House, have received Europa Nostra awards for their excellence in conservation architecture. They are open to the public free of charge throughout the year, except on Christmas Day.

In contrast, the Botanic Gardens in Belfast also feature significant Victorian glasshouses, most notably:

The Palm House: Designed by Charles Lanyon and with wrought iron construction by Richard Turner, this Palm House was completed in 1840, predating Turner’s work in Dublin and Kew Gardens. It is one of the earliest examples of a curvilinear cast iron glasshouse and is divided into three sections: a cool wing, a tropical wing, and a central dome for taller palms.
The Tropical Ravine House: Built in 1889 by the head gardener Charles McKimm, this glasshouse has a unique sunken ravine running its length with viewing balconies on either side. It houses a collection of tropical plants, some of which are very old and endangered.
Comparing and Contrasting the Glasshouses:

Both the Dublin and Belfast Botanic Gardens boast impressive Victorian glasshouses that are significant for their architectural merit and the plant collections they house. Richard Turner played a key role in the construction of significant glasshouses in both cities, highlighting his importance as a leading ironmaster and glasshouse designer of the era.

However, there are some differences:

Number and Variety: Dublin has a larger number and a greater variety of distinct glasshouses, each often dedicated to specific plant groups or climates (e.g., Alpine House, Cactus and Succulent House, Orchid House, Victoria Waterlily House). Belfast’s main historical glasshouses are the Palm House and the Tropical Ravine.

Design and Layout: While both feature curvilinear designs characteristic of the Victorian era, the Tropical Ravine in Belfast offers a unique sunken layout not found in Dublin. Dublin’s Curvilinear Range is a long, linear structure with a central dome, whereas Belfast’s Palm House has a more traditional dome structure with flanking wings.

Historical Significance: Both Palm Houses are early and important examples of Victorian glasshouse construction. Belfast’s Palm House predates Dublin’s major Turner structures. The Tropical Ravine in Belfast is also a unique example of Victorian horticultural architecture. Dublin’s glasshouses, particularly the Curvilinear Range, are notable for their association with Richard Turner’s distinct style and the historical cultivation of orchids.

Restoration: Both gardens have undertaken significant restoration work on their historic glasshouses to preserve these important structures for future generations.

In conclusion, both the National Botanic Gardens in Dublin and the Botanic Gardens in Belfast are home to significant and beautiful Victorian glasshouses that reflect the horticultural and architectural achievements of their time. While both share a connection through the work of Richard Turner, they each possess unique characteristics in terms of the number, design, and layout of their glasshouse collections.

THE SMALL FOOTBRIDGE ACROSS THE LILY POND

June 21, 2023 by infomatique

AT THE BOTANIC GARDENS

Poet Thomas Tickell owned a house and small estate in Glasnevin and, in 1795, they were sold to the Irish Parliament and given to the Royal Dublin Society for them to establish Ireland’s first botanic gardens. A double line of yew trees, known as “Addison’s Walk” survives from this period. The original function of the gardens was to advance knowledge of plants for agricultural, medicinal and dyeing purposes. The gardens were the first location in Ireland where the infection responsible for the 1845–1847 Great Famine was identified. Throughout the famine, research to stop the infection was undertaken at the gardens.

Walter Wade and John Underwood, the first Director and Superintendent respectively, executed the layout of the gardens, but, when Wade died in 1825, they declined for some years. From 1834, Director Ninian Nivan brought new life into the gardens, performing some redesign. This programme of change and development continued with the following Directors into the late 1960s.

The gardens were placed into government care in 1877.

In the winter of 1948/9 Ludwig Wittgenstein lived and worked in Ireland. He frequently came to the Palm House to sit and write. There is a plaque commemorating him on the steps he sat on.

A FEW OF THE GLASSHOUSES IN THE BOTANIC GARDENS

April 13, 2023 by infomatique

13 APRIL 2023

The gardens include some glasshouses of architectural importance, such as the Palm House and the Curvilinear Range.

The Great Palm House is situated in the southern parts of the gardens, and is connected to the cactus house on its west side, and the orchid house on its east side. The main building measures 65 feet in height, 100 feet in length and 80 feet in width.

The Palm House was originally built in 1862 to accommodate the ever increasing collection of plants from tropical areas that demanded more and more protected growing conditions. The construction was overseen by David Moore, the curator of the gardens at the time. The original structure was built of wood, and was unstable, leading to it being blown down by heavy gales in 1883, twenty one years later. Richard Turner, the great Dublin ironmaster, had already supplied an iron house to Belfast Gardens and he persuaded the Royal Dublin Society that such a house would be a better investment than a wooden house, and by 1883 construction had begun on a stronger iron structure. Fabrication of the structure took place in Paisley, Scotland, and shipped to Ireland in sections.

By the early 2000s, the Palm House had fallen into a state of disrepair. After more than 100 years, the wrought iron, cast iron and timber construction had seriously deteriorated. Prior to its restoration a large number of panes of glass were breaking each year due to the corrosion and instability of the structure. As part of the restoration the house was completely dismantled into more than 7,000 parts, tagged for repair and restoration off-site. 20 meter tall cast iron columns within the Great Palm House had seriously degraded and were replaced by new cast iron columns created in moulds of the originals. To protect the structure from further corrosion, new modern paint technology was used to develop long-term protection for the Palm House, providing protection from the perpetually tropical internal climate. For Health and Safety reasons, overhead glass was laminated and vertical panes toughened, and specialised form of mastic was used to fix the panes, replacing original linseed oil putty that had contributed to the decay of the building over the century. The Palm House was reopened in 2004 after a lengthy replanting programme following the restoration process.

The Curvilinear Range was completed in 1848 by Richard Turner, and was extended in the late 1860s. This structure, has also been restored (using some surplus contemporary structural ironwork from Kew Gardens) and this work attracted the Europa Nostra award for excellence in conservation architecture.

There is also a third range of glasshouses: the Aquatic House, the Fern House and the original Cactus House. These structures were closed off in the early 2000s, and are currently undergoing restoration. As these glasshouses were specialised in the plants they housed, many specimens such as the Giant Amazonian Water Lily have not been grown in the gardens since the closure of the structures.