The Physic Garden, Calke Abbey

Record ID:  68830 / MNA183470
Record type:  Monument
Protected Status: None Recorded
NT Property:  Calke Abbey; Midlands
Civil Parish:  None Recorded
Grid Reference:  SK 3708 2254
Choose which type of base map appears on the map Choose map:
Choose which type of labels appear on the map features Choose labels:

Summary

The late 18th or early 19th century physic garden is part of Calke Abbey's walled kitchen gardens and contains an array of glasshouses, frames and service buildings or 'backsheds' which back onto the north side of the garden wall. The garden is located to the north-east of the Orangery buildings.

Identification Images (0)

Most Recent Monitoring

None Recorded

Monument Types

  • BOILER HOUSE (Late 18th C - 1767 AD to 1800 AD)
  • VINERY (Early 19th C - 1801 AD to 1832 AD)
  • PHYSIC GARDEN (Late 18th C - 1767 AD to 1800 AD)
  • GLASSHOUSE (Late 18th C - 1767 AD to 1800 AD)
  • PINERY (19th C - 1801 AD to 1900 AD)

Description

[1] The late 18th or early 19th century physic garden is part of Calke Abbey's walled kitchen gardens (see also NTSMR 61110 & 68831) and contains an array of glasshouses, frames and service buildings or 'backsheds' which back onto the north side of the garden wall. The garden is located to the north-east of the Orangery buildings.

The earliest buildings are probably the Stove House and adjacent Mushroom House thought, from unpublished estate records, to possibly date from the late 18th century. The Vinery was also reffered to in Estate documents in 1810. OS maps show that the Cucumber House and the open frame in front of the Stove House were constructed by 1878. Other greenhouses and frames were constructed between 1878 and 1923, but with the southernmost long frame constructed after 1923.

The West Vinery (demolished in the 1960s is of particular interest as evidence suggests it may have been the pineapple pit. Alternatively, the building known as the Stove House was the original pineapple pit, as the vented brick wall which now supports the staging could previously have been the front wall of the pine pits, retaining tan/manure.

The earliest buildings in the Physic garden were heated by a series of underground stoke holes, accessed through tunnels. These tunnels and their associated chambers are accessible (although not to the public). The main tunnel was originally accessed down steps in one of the backsheds. The East Vinery was also originally heated by a hot flue system, although the stoke hole was not underground. It can still be seen at ground level in the backshed building now used as a pot store. This flue appears to run under a raised flagstone path which runs along the back of the East Vinery. Evidence also remains for hot-air heating in one of the open frames, where a flue runs along the base of the back wall. The heat source for this flue is not known, but it is not far from the Stove House, so it could have come from the underground chamber described above. This is the oldest of the surviving open frames, showing on the 1878 OS map.

Installation of a hot water heating system into the Physic Garden can be dated to 1867 using documentary evidence. One of the saddle boilers installed at this time is located in the old tunnel which provided acces to the stoke holes for the Stove House and Mushroom House and is considerably larger than the other surviving saddle boilers in the Orangery.

References

  • --- SNA66626 - Historic Building Survey: Babtie Group. North Range Garden Buildings, Calke Abbey: Archaeological Recording.

  • --- SNA67084 - Report: Marshall G.. 1987-88. The National Trust: Archaeological Survey, Calke Abbey, Vol 1 - Estate Survey. 1 (of 3).

  • <1> SNA66555 - Report: Fiona Fyfe Associates. 2012. Calke Abbey Historic Garden Heating Systems. p.34-44.

Designations

None Recorded

Other Statuses and References

None Recorded

Associated Events

  • ENA8135 - Field Survey, Historic Building Recording of the north range of Garden Buildings, Calke Abbey

Associated Finds

None Recorded

Related Records