Take 5… Homes with tennis courts
From grass courts with court side viewing, to all weather courts for year round playing, we’ve picked five homes to encourage you to dust off your racket and trainers and hit the court.
Take 5… Homes with orangeries
While their sense of grandeur is still present, few orangeries that exist today are used for their original purpose. Originating from Italy and introduced into British homes in the 17th century, wealthy landowners would use the buildings to house exotic horticulture they bought back from their extensive travels. Their most notable use, and namesake, comes from the use of orangeries to house citrus plants, which needed warmer climates in order to survive.
However, as fruit became increasingly available in the 19th century, the need to have your own fruit trees lessened but that did not stop the orangery’s popularity. Throughout the industrial revolution, glass production grew exponentially and was capable of being mass produced, lowering the cost of installation and making orangeries more affordable. This encouraged architects to explore new ways of incorporating these structures into the home and dawned a new age of the orangery as an extension of the pre-existing living space of a home while incorporating its heritage style and workmanship.
Once symbolic of prestige and wealth, today an orangery makes a beautiful addition to any home providing a light filled extension to properties both old and new. Orangeries make dramatic dining spaces, airy central hubs to a home, and a living space that’s flooded with natural light. A perfect combination of brick and glass achieving architectural harmony, an orangery will give you a functional but truly unique space that makes the most of the outlook of a house.
So whether you’re after a modern orangery extension, or a more period design, we’ve chosen some of our favourite properties with an orangery already in place:
Combe Florey House, Taunton, Somerset
Combe Florey is a delightful Grade II listed 18th century manor house with a large orangery on the ground floor providing a central hub to the house.
Farm Hill House, Kelvedon, Essex
A fine example of a classic Edwardian country home, set within private landscaped grounds. The kitchen radiates centrally from the heart of the house and incorporates both breakfast and sitting areas, the latter set within an Orangery offering splendid views over the gardens.
Glanton Pyke, Alnwick, Northumberland
One of the finest houses in Northumberland with an orangery built in a typical Victorian style.
Shepherds Close, Dorney, Buckinghamshire
Shepherds Close is one mans clever renovation and successful blend of vintages. A more recent addition to the home, and the perfect example of the old blending seamlessly with the new, the orangery is a bespoke design.
Parkside, Eastbourne, East Sussex
A substantial and beautifully presented detached Edwardian townhouse with a beautiful mature garden. From its sitting room bi-fold doors open through to the stunning orangery which has three sets of bi-fold doors into the garden.
