Culzean Castle, Camellia House. View from North-West of camellia house with trees growing through the glassless windows. Digital image of AY 1396/25.

Description Culzean Castle, Camellia House. View from North-West of camellia house with trees growing through the glassless windows. Digital image of AY 1396/25.

Date 4/1959

Collection Records of the Scottish National Buildings Record, Edinburgh, Scotland

Catalogue Number SC 763902

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of AY 1396/25

Scope and Content Camellia House from the south-west, Culzean Castle, South Ayrshire This shows the Gothic camellia house in the castle gardens. This elaborately-decorated stone building features pinnacles, crenellations and tall windows (originally filled with glass). It was used to grow camellias, flowering shrubs with pink or red rose-like blooms and glossy leaves. In the 1820s they were thought too delicate to grow outdoors in the Scottish climate. During restoration in 1995 traces of two heating systems were found. The first method used was hot air, which passed through a 'hypocaust' system below the stone slabbed floor. In the late 19th century a steam heating system was fitted. Early hothouses were called 'stoves', and first became popular in the 1700s when they were used to grow exotic fruits and flowers on grand estates. Culzean Castle was remodelled by architect Robert Adam (1728-92) from 1777 onwards for David, 10th Earl of Cassilis. He extended the late 16th-century, L-plan tower-house in the Castellated style and added a drum tower in 1785. Adam also designed the Neo-Classical interior, oval staircase (built 1787), and adjacent home farm. The castle was extended to the west in 1875 by architects Wardrop & Reid, and restored in the 20th century for The National Trust for Scotland. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/763902

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap