No panes without gain for restoration at Shropshire glasshouse
It is one of the few remaining glasshouses of its type in the country – and now work is starting to restore it back to its former glory.
The 1830s structure forms the centrepiece of a walled garden in the heart of the Shropshire countryside.
Archive pictures survive of gardeners working in the shadow of the imposing building when it was essential to the operation of the gardens at Millichope Park in Munslow.
The glasshouse is one of the very few surviving curvilinear examples in the country and the only one in Shropshire. But it has fallen into disrepair since it was last in operation in the early 1960s.
It is one of several structures at Millichope which are in line for renovation as part of a wider scheme to bring the walled garden back into operation.
Millichope Park owners Frank and Antonia Bury were joined by former chairman of English Heritage Sir Neil Cossons, conservation expert Sula Rayska, archaeologist Jeremy Milln and local volunteers to discuss how the 1830s glasshouse in their walled garden should be restored.
Mr Bury, whose family moved into their ancestral home in 2011, said: "This is a pretty ambitious project which will cost tens of thousands of pounds but we are hugely excited at the prospect of restoring these structures – they were marvels of innovation and design in their day."
"The meeting went very well, and the volunteers from the Corve Dale seemed genuinely enthusiastic to be part of the scheme. They are being asked to help on an archaeological dig and research the original glasshouse.
"We have been very lucky to have conservation experts such as Sir Neil Cossons, Sula Rayska, Jeremy Milln and the late Fiona Grant who have been enormously supportive of this project. Part of the funding has been pledged by Country Houses Foundation and we are applying for funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
"We are keeping our fingers crossed that we can raise sufficient money to complete the full restoration project and have a working example of our social and industrial heritage for people to enjoy for decades to come."
