Today many homes have a conservatory, filled with summer furniture, blinds and in some cases a dining table. Conservatories however have not always been common; at the outset of their development they were the reserve of the upper classes, used to store exotic plants and in some cases animals. The purpose of this article is to highlight the development of the conservatory, as well as the blinds that fill them and their usage buy homeowners.
The word conservatory is a derivative of the Italian word 'conservato', meaning to store or preserve, the 'ory' affix is purely Latin for a place. Originally conservatories did not have blinds installed, the earliest varieties were not even glazed and acted much like a larder, being used to store perishable foods. It was not until the seventeenth century that conservatories started to be glazed representing a change in form as well as function.
There is some argument about where and when the first conservatory was installed within the UK. Some believe that it was in the Oxford botanic garden, others believe it was located in the Chelsea physic garden. Despite the controversy both had similar functionality. There were predominantly used for scientific purposes, with professionals researching exotic plants and animals brought from all corners of
the world.
Kew Gardens in London has a number of early style conservatories. It is believed that the oldest of these is the Architectural Conservatory, created in the nineteenth century and moved to Kew from Buckingham Palace during its redesign in 1836. This conservatory, without blinds was the creation of John Nash, an architect that designed many of the conservatories present in Buckingham Palace.
The Crystal Palace is probably the most famous of all the classical conservatories. This grand conservatory was constructed without blinds in around twenty two weeks; it had an area of around nineteen acres and at the time was the largest enclosed space ever built. It was constructed for the Great Exhibition, an event that saw six million visitors come to the Crystal Palace, doing much to enhance the reputation of glass structures in the eyes of the public. Understandably this event did much to increase awareness and desire for conservatories in the homes of ordinary people.
Today conservatories are now present in thousands of homes, the conservatory industry is worth millions and blinds companies have realised the worth of installing blinds within conservatories. As a way to bring the garden into the home they are unrivalled, allowing homeowners to enjoy the sunshine all year round.
Author Resource:-
Cultural historian Thomas Pretty studies how conservatories have become popular in modern culture and how conservatory blinds are installed for both practical and aesthetic reasons.
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