A Victorian palm house that became a striking five-bedroom home in Devon
The 19th century mania for exotic plants left the Mamhead Estate in Devon with a beautiful building that has found a new life in the 21st century.
Think of the Industrial Revolution and you tend to think of the 'dark, Satanic mills' of William Blake. And while it's true that the explosion of technology and industry stained our environment, among the many modern miracles it brought with it was an explosion in exotic plants. The Victorians were fascinated by ferns, orchids and palm trees, and the advances in ironwork and glass production meant that huge new glass houses could be built to house and nurture exotic specimens from around the world.
The great 19th century palm houses are the most obvious examples of this, particularly those erected at the Royal Botanic Gardens of Edinburgh, Belfast and Kew in the 1830s and 1840s. But while most full-scale palm houses were built as civic, royal or public botanical projects, others were created on private estates. One such example survives at the Mamhead estate in east Devon, dating back to the 1850s — and rather wonderfully, it has been converted into a home, which is now for sale through Savills at £1.25 million.
Originally serving as a conservatory for the display of sub-tropical plants, with distinctive arched windows separated by giant pilasters and a south-facing aspect, the building was converted into a five-bedroom house in the 1980s.
At the heart of the property is an open-plan reception hall filled with natural light thanks to the bottom half of the five enormous arched windows which give the house its unmistakable palm house appearance.
The top halves of those arched windows are enjoyed on the first floor, with the principal bedroom, its dressing room, the study and the landing all enjoying the light pouring in.
There's are four further bedrooms, one on the other side of the first floor, and the remaining three on the second floor beneath a slate roof which dates to the 1980s.
The setting here is beautiful, with 1¼ acres that include the estate’s original kitchen garden, lawns, a meadow, woodland and a maze.
There is also a large greenhouse in the gardens, making this a glass house with its own glasshouse.
The Palm House at Mamhead is for sale through Savills at £1.25 million — see more details.
