Pavilions

The Pavilions, the three domes interlinked by ridge-and-furrow sections, were designed by local architect Benjamin Broomhead Taylor and opened in 1836. They were extended at either end in the 1850s, but eventually derelict sections had to be demolished leaving only the three domes in 1902. The Restoration Project supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund saw the range restored in 2003.

There were no extant plans of the original Victorian layout. A new design had to take into account the requirements for disabled visitors and the installation of services for automatic climate control, heating and ventilation.

 

The planting beds were constructed with stone from Stoke Hall Quarries, Grindleford. The flooring consists of sawn stone slabs from the Crossland Hill quarries of Johnson Wellfield in Huddersfield.

The plants in the Pavilions have been selected from warm temperate areas of the world and minimum temperatures are maintained above 10°C.

The plant collections have diverse moisture requirements and so are watered by hand, using rainwater collected from the roofs and stored in huge underground tanks in front of the Pavilions.

  • Formal bedding in front of the pavilions

  • Pavilions range - May 2017

  • Pavilions - December 2014

  • Musa basjoo - East Dome - March 2024

  • Musella lasiocarpa - East Dome - March 2023

  • Camellia japonica ‘Anemoniflora’ - East Ridge-and-Furrow March 2022

  • Tetrapanax papyrifera - East Ridge-and-Furrow - March 2022

  • Reinwardtia indica - East Ridge-and-Furrow - March 2024

  • Howea forsteriana - Central Dome - March 2024

  • Callistemon linearis - Central Dome - March 2022

  • Dicksonia fibrosa - West-Ridge-and-Furrow - March 2022

  • Abutilon sp. West Ridge-and-Furrow

  • Aechmea fasciata - West Ridge-and-Furrow - March 2024

  • Cacti Collection - West-Ridge-and-Furrow - March 2024

  • Protea cynaroides - West Dome - April 2015

  • Protea cynaroides - West Dome - May 2018

  • Erica sparsa - West Dome - March 2022

  • Veltheimia bracteata - West Dome - February 2018

  • Strelitzia reginae - West Dome - May 2019

  • Strelitzia nicolai - West Dome - June 2022

East Dome

A collection of banana varieties includes Musa basjoo, the Japanese banana, and Musella lasiocarpa, the Golden Lotus banana.

East Ridge-and-Furrow

Asian and Himalayan plantings extend into the East Ridge and Furrow glasshouse and include tender camellias. Here you may find the scented Jasminum officinale, brilliant red flowers of Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, the climbing waxvine Hoya and the striking foliage of the rice paper plant Tetrapanax papyrifera.

A small selection of plants from the Mediterranean area, including the olive, Olea europaea is also to be found here.

Central Dome

In the tall Central Dome, Australian plants predominate around a small fountain. Representatives from the Acacia, Banksia and Callistemon genera grow well here. In 2020 the Doryanthes excelsa, the spear lily, originating from New South Wales, flowered for the first time in many years.

West Ridge-and-Furrow

Tree ferns, Dicksonia and Cyathea, extend from the Australian area into the New Zealand section of this glasshouse. A Tecomanthe speciosa, Three King’s Vine, forms a canopy supported by gripple wires.

Next are plants from South America including Fuchsia arborescens and Brugmansia.

A well-drained gravel bed exhibits a mature collection of cacti and succulents.

West Dome

The southern Africa collection includes Cape heathers, cycads, clivias, agapanthus and pelargoniums. Worthy of note are the Protea cynaroides and Veltheimia bracteata. The two varieties of the Bird of Paradise Plant showcase the vibrant Strelitzia reginae and the very large S. nicolai.