Orangeries in the UK / US

The Orangery at Kew Gardens. It is now used as a restaurant

The orangery at Kew (1761) is the earliest surviving work there by Sir William Chambers. At 28 m (92 ft) long, it was the largest glasshouse in Britain when it was built. Though it was designed as an arcade with end pavilions to winter oranges, the light levels under its solid roof were too low for it to be successful.

• Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew: The Orangery

The Orangery at Margam Park, Wales, was built between 1787 and 1793 to house a large collection of orange, lemon and citron trees inherited by Thomas Mansel Talbot. The original house has been razed, but the surviving orangery, at 327 feet, is the longest one in Wales.

• Margam Park: Orangery

Sir Christopher Wren designed the orangery at Kensington Palace for Queen Anne in 1702.

There is an orangery dating from about 1700 at Kenwood House in London.

Orangeries in the US

In the United States the earliest surviving orangery is at the Tayloe house in Mount Airy, Virginia, but today it is an overgrown ruin. A ruined orangery can also be seen at the gardens Eyre Hall in North Hampton County, Virginia.

A more interesting, and extant, early 18th century orangery can be seen at the Wye Plantation, near Tunis Mills (Easton), Maryland. This orangery sits behind the main house and consists of a large open room with two smaller wings added at some point after the initial construction. The south-facing wall consists of large triple-hung windows. A second story was added as a billiards room, according to the current resident, Ms. Tilghman, a descendent of the Lloyd family. This plantation is also notable as having been the home of Frederick Douglas as a young slave boy. The orangery is described in the book Glass Houses, as is the orangery at the Tayloe house.

Ms. Tilghman notes that plants are still stored inside the building in winter, but a frame has been constructed to hold the houseplants, and the whole of the frame is covered with plastic to keep in moisture. In this way, the plants do not have to be watered through the entire winter.

A new orangery, loosely modeled on the Wye orangery, was built on private property in 2006 near Royal Oak, Maryland. This orangery is approximately 29' x 17' of frame construction on stab, with a 20 foot ceiling, and glass on both front and back.