Issue 42 summer 24 web - Flipbook - Page 90
Claudia Kenyatta, Director of Regions at Historic England, said: “It’s wonderful to see this important part of the
Wentworth Woodhouse site brought back to life through
strong partnership working. I’m proud that Historic England has played a role in transforming what was a derelict,
roofless building into this stunning new public tearoom,
complete with historic blooms.”
Additional financing came from WWPT’s own funds and
grant applications (£136,536), the Garfield Weston Foundation (£118,257), Historic House Foundation
(£100,000), the Swire Charitable Trust (£38,766) and the
Ian Addison Charitable Trust (£7,500). In-kind donations
totalled £19,270 and volunteer time £33,400.
The camellias were protected and nurtured during the
year-long restoration.
Over 200 attended the official launch on March 22 and
the Camellia House opened to the public on April 2.
Growing beds were encased in timber and covered with
thick plastic sheeting to prevent lime plaster dust and
debris contaminating soil.
Fact file
The Camellia House:
The Camellia House is an early 19th century conservatory
created from a tea house originally built for Lady Rockingham, wife of the 1st Marquess, in 1738 to entertain
and impress her guests.
A crash deck built at roof level prevented debris falling
onto the plants featured foil-lined light tunnels to allow
in natural light.
£5,000 of additional LED lighting was gifted by worldleading UK horticultural lighting specialist Lumatek to
keep the camellias in tip-top condition.
It is thought the camellia collection could have begun
with the 2nd Marquess of Rockingham. His nephew, the
4th Earl Fitzwilliam, who inherited the estate in 1782, was
certainly an avid collector.
The Camellias:
The Camellia House housed up to 30 camellias in the
1800s.
In 1812, he had the Camellia House built onto the tea
house to accommodate a collection which grew to around
30-strong.
The 4th Earl Fitzwilliam would have viewed his camellias
as being as valuable as Van Dyck paintings.
Along with the rest of Wentworth Woodhouse, the building fell into decline from the late 1900s and the camellias
were forgotten.
Each plant could have cost the equivalent of a housemaid’s annual wage and heating the Camellia House
would have been hugely expensive.
Its restoration was funded primarily by The National Lottery Heritage Fund (£4m) and Historic England (
£614,622).
It now contains 18 historic camellias and one planted
during Clifford Newbold’s ownership of Wentworth
Woodhouse (1999-2017).
Below, Camellia's in bloom Feb 2024
Identifying them is a painstaking process, supported by
the International Camellia Society.
Flowers are compared to drawings and descriptions in
early plant catalogues and articles penned in the late
1700s to 1800s by growers propagating the first cuttings
from China.
Five plants have now been identified as varieties first on
sale in Britain between 1806 and 1822. he size of their
trunks classes them as from that period:
Elegans, a candy pink variety first sold in the UK in 1806
Alba Plena, a white camellia which came into the country
in 1792 and was for sale from 1810
A Pompone from the 1810 period, which has the ability
to sport different coloured blooms on separate branches
Rubra, one of the oldest varieties in China and Japan,
which bears red blooms. The plant at Wentworth Woodhouse could date from 1819
Parksii - With ruffled, dark red flowers bearing white
flecks, this variety was named after British gardener John
Damper Parks, who collected plants in China on behalf
of the RHS in 1822
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