19th Century Orangerie

6 years ago

The Ridgley family owned lots of land and were very wealthy. Their manor house is a Nat'l Historic Site called Hampton House near Towson, Maryland. How did they have citrus fruit on the table in winter? The trees were outside in large planters during the growing season. They were placed inside this orangerie before frost and stayed here during winter. They had hot water heat to keep the trees, laden with fruit, from freezing. That's a lot of work but if you wanted citrus in Victorian times, in a cold climate, that's how it was done. The orangerie was only used as a protective structure for the trees during the cold months. Do you have a modern version? If so, show us a pic.

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poncirusguy6b452xx

6 years ago

President George Washington had an orangery too. Very similar

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Comments (7)

poncirusguy6b452xx
6 years ago

Greenhouse and bucket lights · More Info

Greenhouse and bucket lights · More Info

Greenhouse and bucket lights · More Info
steve
Laura LaRosa (7b)
6 years ago
How cool! Thanks for posting this. I live in Annapolis and would love to visit that site sometime.
sam_md
Original Author
6 years ago

thanks poncirusguy for that. I went to Mt Vernon yesterday for a tour. Here is a current pic of that structure. Interesting that they have interior shutters to close at night and keep out the cold. Right now the orangery is not being used.
Although its hard to tell, the fireplace at right is lower and somehow hot air is forced through flues and circulates around to keep the orangery from freezing. When it was in use, it had to be tended 24 hours a day and required lots & lots of wood.
Saltysea (Oz)
6 years ago
This is so interesting. :). I guess the Victorians liked their oranges just as much as we did.
sam_md
Original Author
4 years ago
How about a modern day version. This time located in Nebraska. He claims he can grow the best citrus in the world using only thermal heat. See this youtube it's pretty remarkable.
socalnolympia
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
" Interesting that they have interior shutters to close at night and keep out the cold. "

Yes, if only we had servants (or slaves) to close those shutters for us every night, and then reliably open them up the following day.

I had thought of something similar; greenhouses would make a whole lot more sense if there was some way to let in the light during the daytime, but also somehow cover those windows and provide insulation during the night.

Some of these luxuries on those estates back then were only made possible by cheap labor, and those servants of the household were probably tasked with upkeeping that orangerie every day. It took a lot of work to put oranges on the table.