Conservation Case Study: The Vinery Greenhouse Pilot Project Part I

Conservation work has begun on the Vinery greenhouse. This work, our pilot project, will help the Parkwood staff and E.R.A Architects (photo credits to E.R.A) watch the dismantling process, understand the intricate construction workings of the Vinery, the glass, Cyprus wood, metals, mechanical workings and foundation bricks, readying for the conservation plan on the other greenhouses within the greenhouse complex.
During the architectural condition report, completed in 2012, the Vinery c.1917, was selected as the best greenhouse to be used for the pilot project, since it has essentially been ignored throughout the years. Ironically, in heritage circles, it is often the case, when things are ignored, and no human intervention is applied, that items, buildings, artefacts are in their best historic condition. Think of an episode of your favourite appraisal type show, and how often the coin collector is crushed because he/she has polished a coin to a lovely lustre, destroying the historic patina (one of my favourite words, and one that many of my non purest heritage friends loathe....patina). Hence, we can say that the Vinery was very well patina'ed.

Dismantled shafts & arm rods
Metal in good condition, no fatiguing

The intervention story is true with the Parkwood Greenhouses. Through the 1970s/80s the greenhouses were "restored" or made more attractive and easier to maintain. This meant that the glass, which ideally should have been whitewashed each year, was removed, and the lovely <cynical use> Lexan, the now yellowed plastic was applied. In some cases the Cyprus wood that held the glass in place was altered or changed out completely, and stone foundations and brick work were painted over as erosion and spalling became more and more evident. These band-aids, to make things look attractive, continued. The Vinery sat, was used for storage and plant holding areas, but it was ignored, minus a mini repair to the foundational wall in 2001. Due to the fact it was forgotten about, the interventions applied to all the others; the Palm House, the Japanese Garden, the Orchid House, never happened within the Vinery, thus it has remained in perfect historical condition, an ideal specimen for study.
The work on the study has been prescribed by the architects as follows;
Original glass, metal and wood elements will be carefully removed or dismantled, to be cleaned, repaired and/or repainted.  After the brick foundation walls have been restored, the glass, metal and wood elements all get put back together.  As well, original venting systems will be made operable again.
The plan is to have the Vinery back in operation for the spring of 2014, ready for the clippings and spring propagation use for the Parkwood grounds.
The prescription above came after months and months of study. We studied photographs, some drawings and blueprints, we watched the home movies, freezing on frames, we chatted with the former ground staff/servants of the McLaughlin Family about their recollections, site visit after site visit, to make sure we were confident with our plan of next steps. We were ready for the "brick and mortar" work, when another consideration presented itself.

The other area of further concern through the construction process is the grapevine that inhabits the Vinery, and if Parkwood legend is true, it has lived there since 1917.


Exterior view of the grapevine housing application
 



Warm & cosy. Interior view of the micro-climate

While the work is being done on the greenhouse, curatorial staff, are working on verifying the facts about the grapevine. As is common with many aspects of Parkwood, over the years, facts sometimes grow their own tales, and this is true of the grapevine. With concern about the accuracy and perhaps the advent of the vine at Parkwood, we are protecting it, having created a microclimate for it, while spending extra time and consideration on the root ball protection. With the winter we have been experiencing, fingers crossed our microclimate does the trick, as we work away on sourcing and perhaps verifying the provenance of the grapevine.

Stay tuned as we continue to work and report on the pilot project.