CHAPTER XIV. 



There is perhaps no detail of domestic architecture which calls for so much care 

 in its design and proportions as a conservatory. Whether it is attached immediately 

 to the residence or is placed separately and reached by a glass corridor, it is a feature 

 which may, in the hands of a capable architect, be a delight to the eye as well as 

 forming a most useful and pleasant adjunct to the mansion. Yet, if one may be allowed 

 to judge from the conservatories usually erected, even in conjunction with architecture of 

 real merit, it would seem that few people realize that intelligent design can be applied to 

 such structures, and that the only means of rendering them presentable does not consist 

 in the mistaken application of spidery cast-iron ridging and crudely assorted panes of 

 coloured glass. All that is necessary to prove the contrary is to compare such build- Stock 

 ings with the delightful orangeries and conservatories attached to some of the larger designs. 

 Georgian mansions, such as the conservatory at Belton House, Grantham, with its severely 

 plain but exquisitely balanced treatment, or the more elaborately detailed one at Ven 

 House, Milborne Port, Somersetshire, either of which would provide the designer of the 

 modern structures with a much needed object-lesson. Compare these with the photo- 

 graphs in the horticultural builders' catalogues from which unfortunately the modern 

 examples are evolved. It would never seem to have struck the prospective builders 

 that it is just as necessary that the conservatory should be designed by a competent 

 garden architect who understands both the aesthetic and practical requirements, as that 

 a domestic architect should be retained for the mansion, or a specialist in any other 

 branch of design, and instead, they have chosen one, two or three specimens, from the 

 catalogue as the case may be, according to the amount of accommodation required. 



So long as the selection of stock designs is confined to the provision of propagating 

 and growing houses, which can be kept more or less out of sight and from which the ' 



plants are removed to the conservatory when blooming, this short-sighted method may 

 not result in much harm, provided that the materials and workmanship are good, but, 

 when intended as an adjunct to the house or pleasure grounds, and especially when 

 viewed in conjunction with the former, it is necessary that position, planning, grouping, 

 and details should all receive consideration. It is above all things necessary that the 

 treatment of a glasshouse should be distinctly architectural without heaviness. 



The use to which the conservatory is to be put is of course the first and most Planning 

 important factor in determining its planning. In most circumstances, a pleasant " with- the con- 

 drawing " room is required where, at all periods of the year, the users may enjoy the servatory. 

 sunshine amid fresh flowers and foliage, when it will have to be planned so that it has 

 convenient access to the entertaining rooms. In other cases, where immediate connection 

 with the mansion is not essential, and more light and air are required than can be obtained 

 when one side is against the house, it is often found advisable to place the conservatory 



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