Red and Green
Inside the glasshouses of the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh
Covering two levels, 10 zones and range from the iconic Victorian Palm Houses of 1834 & 1858, through the 6 zones of the initiative 1967 Front Range and ending with the two utilitarian clear-span glasshouses from 1978.
The Temperate Palm House was built in 1858 by Robert Matheson with a grant from the UK Parliament and cost a total of £6,500. It measures 15.24 m (50ft) to the top of the stonework - sandstone from a quarry at Bishopbriggs near Glasgow, with each glass dome 3.35 m (11ft) giving a total height of 21.95 m (72ft).
The radical design of the 1967 glasshouses was hailed as the most innovative since Paxton's Great Conservatory at Chatsworth, built in the 1830s. All the supporting structure is on the outside, so the internal area can be used to full effect. It was designed by Allan Pendreigh who was responsible for the actual design as architect with the Department of the Environment along with George Pearce and John Johnson. The Main Contractor was Alexander Hall & Son (Builders) Edinburgh Ltd.. The main range is 128 m (420 ft) long and 18.25 m (60 ft) wide and cost £263,000.
...the two clear-span glasshouse were built in 1978 along with most of our Research glasshouse in the final phase on “modernising” after a period of neglect. They were opened by Sir George Taylor on the 14th July.
[Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh]
The Royal Botanic Garden is situated approximately 1 mile (1.5km) north of Edinburgh City Centre and a similar distance south from the shores of the Firth of Forth. The Garden is contained by walls or railings on all four boundaries, although the administration buildings of the Garden extend on its east side onto Inverleith Row. Georgian mansions partly line the eastern boundary and similar houses lie to the north and south of the Garden whilst Inverleith Park lies to the west. The Garden includes part of the former policies of Inverleith House. The site enjoys a low average rainfall. Natural soil conditions are alluvial sand but they have been modified to suit requirements in many areas of the Garden. The eastern side of the Garden is relatively level but the ground rises steeply to the hill on which Inverleith House stands, from which a magnificent panoramic view of the skyline of Edinburgh can be gained. The Garden itself is of only some significance in the local landscape since it can only really be seen from the surrounding roads.
The Royal Botanic Garden is laid out over a relatively square site which extends from Inverleith Row in the east to Arboretum Place in the west, Inverleith Place in the north, to Inverleith Terrace in the south. When first established on its present site in 1820, the site covered only some 14 acres (5.7ha). After 1845, the Garden began to expand; in 1876, 28 acres of ground around Inverleith House were purchased which completed most of the expansion of the Garden to its present size. Documentary map evidence of this development is provided by the OS maps of 1852 and 1933, and a detailed plan of the garden made in 1870. The addition of the area around Inverleith House enabled the view of Edinburgh to be incorporated as a feature of the Garden and it is generally considered today as one of the best locations from which a view of the City can be gained. The fine Plant Exhibition Houses are situated in the north- east of the garden and stand amid lawns with specimen trees which provide a setting for the buildings when viewed from the various points in the Garden...
The Royal Botanic Garden was established on its present site in 1820 although the history of the Garden goes back much further, to 1670. The plant collection expanded over the years and in 1820 a new larger site was chosen to the east of Inverleith House, under the direction of Professor Robert Graham, and curator William McNab. The transfer to the new 14 acre site took three years and it is to the credit of William McNab that little of the plant material died in the process. Macnab invented a transplanting machine for use in the removal of large trees.
The OS map of 1852 indicates the relationship on plan of the Botanic Garden with the adjacent policies of Inverleith; the house stood on the hill with a formal parterre on the flat ground adjacent to the south front. A belt of trees enclosed the house and garden and continued down the west drive before returning along the west boundary. Parkland lay to the north, south and east as far as the boundary of the Botanic Garden. In the south-west corner of the Park was an enclosure which appears to have been an orchard, kitchen garden and piggery. In 1864, the adjacent experimental garden of the Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society was transferred to the RBG and, in 1876, the remaining twenty eight acres of land around Inverleith House were acquired.
The next main period of expansion and development began after the appointment in 1888 of Isaac Bayley Balfour as Regius Keeper. In 1889, the Garden came wholly under the Crown. Improvements instigated by Sir Isaac Bayley Balfour, which involved the complete re-organisation of the plant collection have resulted in the garden which remains today. Glasshouses and accommodation were built for research and teaching.
[Historic Environment Scotland]
Red and Green
Inside the glasshouses of the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh
Covering two levels, 10 zones and range from the iconic Victorian Palm Houses of 1834 & 1858, through the 6 zones of the initiative 1967 Front Range and ending with the two utilitarian clear-span glasshouses from 1978.
The Temperate Palm House was built in 1858 by Robert Matheson with a grant from the UK Parliament and cost a total of £6,500. It measures 15.24 m (50ft) to the top of the stonework - sandstone from a quarry at Bishopbriggs near Glasgow, with each glass dome 3.35 m (11ft) giving a total height of 21.95 m (72ft).
The radical design of the 1967 glasshouses was hailed as the most innovative since Paxton's Great Conservatory at Chatsworth, built in the 1830s. All the supporting structure is on the outside, so the internal area can be used to full effect. It was designed by Allan Pendreigh who was responsible for the actual design as architect with the Department of the Environment along with George Pearce and John Johnson. The Main Contractor was Alexander Hall & Son (Builders) Edinburgh Ltd.. The main range is 128 m (420 ft) long and 18.25 m (60 ft) wide and cost £263,000.
...the two clear-span glasshouse were built in 1978 along with most of our Research glasshouse in the final phase on “modernising” after a period of neglect. They were opened by Sir George Taylor on the 14th July.
[Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh]
The Royal Botanic Garden is situated approximately 1 mile (1.5km) north of Edinburgh City Centre and a similar distance south from the shores of the Firth of Forth. The Garden is contained by walls or railings on all four boundaries, although the administration buildings of the Garden extend on its east side onto Inverleith Row. Georgian mansions partly line the eastern boundary and similar houses lie to the north and south of the Garden whilst Inverleith Park lies to the west. The Garden includes part of the former policies of Inverleith House. The site enjoys a low average rainfall. Natural soil conditions are alluvial sand but they have been modified to suit requirements in many areas of the Garden. The eastern side of the Garden is relatively level but the ground rises steeply to the hill on which Inverleith House stands, from which a magnificent panoramic view of the skyline of Edinburgh can be gained. The Garden itself is of only some significance in the local landscape since it can only really be seen from the surrounding roads.
The Royal Botanic Garden is laid out over a relatively square site which extends from Inverleith Row in the east to Arboretum Place in the west, Inverleith Place in the north, to Inverleith Terrace in the south. When first established on its present site in 1820, the site covered only some 14 acres (5.7ha). After 1845, the Garden began to expand; in 1876, 28 acres of ground around Inverleith House were purchased which completed most of the expansion of the Garden to its present size. Documentary map evidence of this development is provided by the OS maps of 1852 and 1933, and a detailed plan of the garden made in 1870. The addition of the area around Inverleith House enabled the view of Edinburgh to be incorporated as a feature of the Garden and it is generally considered today as one of the best locations from which a view of the City can be gained. The fine Plant Exhibition Houses are situated in the north- east of the garden and stand amid lawns with specimen trees which provide a setting for the buildings when viewed from the various points in the Garden...
The Royal Botanic Garden was established on its present site in 1820 although the history of the Garden goes back much further, to 1670. The plant collection expanded over the years and in 1820 a new larger site was chosen to the east of Inverleith House, under the direction of Professor Robert Graham, and curator William McNab. The transfer to the new 14 acre site took three years and it is to the credit of William McNab that little of the plant material died in the process. Macnab invented a transplanting machine for use in the removal of large trees.
The OS map of 1852 indicates the relationship on plan of the Botanic Garden with the adjacent policies of Inverleith; the house stood on the hill with a formal parterre on the flat ground adjacent to the south front. A belt of trees enclosed the house and garden and continued down the west drive before returning along the west boundary. Parkland lay to the north, south and east as far as the boundary of the Botanic Garden. In the south-west corner of the Park was an enclosure which appears to have been an orchard, kitchen garden and piggery. In 1864, the adjacent experimental garden of the Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society was transferred to the RBG and, in 1876, the remaining twenty eight acres of land around Inverleith House were acquired.
The next main period of expansion and development began after the appointment in 1888 of Isaac Bayley Balfour as Regius Keeper. In 1889, the Garden came wholly under the Crown. Improvements instigated by Sir Isaac Bayley Balfour, which involved the complete re-organisation of the plant collection have resulted in the garden which remains today. Glasshouses and accommodation were built for research and teaching.
[Historic Environment Scotland]