Vine house and Peach house at Florence Court

Our long standing partnership with the National Trust is treasured here at Alitex.

We recently worked with Florence Court, Northern Ireland, on the restoration of the Kitchen Garden back to its former 1930’s glory. Part of the journey was to replace two existing structures, so we designed a Vine house and a Peach house.

Maintaining the footprint of the original structures, the new glasshouses have a classic Victorian aesthetic. They are both ¾ span, therefore benefitting from the sun hitting the south facing wall, being absorbed by the brick, and heating the glasshouse.

Downland Stone was chosen to powder coat the glasshouses, as it was the best match to the original structures, and the Florence Court team were keen to maintain the historic style.

The two glasshouses mirror each other, and are both the same length, but differ slightly in width. The Vine house is used as a community space for events. Florence Court hosted a Grand Opening for the glasshouses, as well as community open day to widen our outreach to local organisations. It is also used for growing and houses tomatoes, aubergines, herbs, agaves, aloes, Inca berry, passiflora, strelitzias and two lemon trees. The Peach house is the wider of the two, and is used for propagation as well as housing peaches, apricots and nectarines.

The initial reaction of joy when visitors see the glasshouses always impresses the team at Florence Court. They are a real talking point for new and returning visitors to the Kitchen Garden.

The team at Florence Court enjoyed the design process, “It was very smooth. Alitex were clear of the decisions they needed from us and when they needed them. The design outcome was in line with our initial design proposals and what was approved by planning.”