Working in Partnership with
The National Trust
Five years ago The National Trust approached us to design a range of smaller Heritage greenhouses with them. Working with their curators and gardeners we were able to design greenhouses that met with their and our strict requirements for combining aesthetics with a superb growing environment.
The range has been enormously popular, with the latest edition - The Mottisfont being launched at Chelsea last year by Dame Fiona Reynolds, Director General of The Trust.
In addition to The National Trust Greenhouses we have also built a number of bespoke greenhouses within Trust gardens. Since most of The Trust properties are listed, the timber appearance of our aluminium glasshouses has been a significant factor.
The National Trust, The Vyne, Basingstoke
The Vyne is an impressive 16th Century house set in 1120 acres of gardens, meadows, woods and wetlands, including a large walled garden dating back to the 18th Century. The Grade II Listed garden has recently undergone an impressive renovation including replacing an old dilapidated timber lean to greenhouse. The Trust were keen to have a glasshouse that had the aesthetic qualities of timber, but also had longevity and was virtually maintenance free. Before deciding to choose an Alitex structure The Trust considered replacing the building in timber again, but found that the cost of this along with the associated maintenance costs made it considerably more expensive.
The glasshouse is 4.5 metres wide and 19 metres long with a 30 degree roof pitch.
The National Trust, Standen House, East Grinstead
Standen House is a Victorian Family Home showcasing stunning William Morris wall papers and textile.
The 12 acre garden is considered one of the best examples of an arts and crafts garden in the country, combining local materials to construct the formal elements, with loose planting and subtle colour schemes. Our project involved building a new ¾ span greenhouse in aluminium to avoid costly maintenance issues, which is largely used for propagation and over wintering.
The new greenhouse is 3 metres wide and 6.1 metres long. The National Trust architectural panel required that the glazing bays were 18 inches wide to meet the historical requirements of the site.
Peckover House, Wisbech.
This elegant Georgian townhouse is set in a 2 acre walled garden in the heart of Wisbech town centre. It is a stunning retreat in the midst of the town with an orangery, fernery, summerhouses and stunning displays of narcissi, daffodils and tulips in the summer, and roses in the summer.
Peckover had lost 2 wooden glasshouses which had rotted irretrievably, and were keen in their replacement to drastically reduce maintenance costs. They were aware of Alitex from our restoration work at the Vyne, and came to us with the project.
Work has now started on the replacement of the old Propagation House with an Alitex Greenhouse.
Alison Napier is Head Gardener at Peckover
"We propagate a large percentage of the plants used in the garden. For several years we have had to utilise some of the space in the Orangery for propagation. The new glasshouse will enable us to put back the full decorative display in the Orangery for our visitors to enjoy."
Dame Fiona Reynolds Launching the Mottisfont in 2008
