This is an image of the Vinery in the upper garden here at Lismore Castle. It was designed by Sir Joseph Paxton and built in 1853. The 6th Duke of Devonshire had carried out extensive works on the castle through the early part of the 19th century and instructed Paxton, his Head Gardener at the time, to design elements of the upper and lower gardens. The Vinery is of timber construction and is renowned for Paxton's ridge and furrow design that maximised the incidence of light into the glass house. The glass house consists of 12 bays and each would have had vines planted on the outside and fed through the plinth wall and trained up the ridge of each bay. A very unique structure it is believed to be the last remaining glasshouse of this design. Over the decades time and weather has taken its toll on the wooden structure and a number of attempts have been made to preserve it. Some of these methods have unfortunately added to the structures decline. As you can see in the image, some of the bays have been removed, and the remaining bays are in a poor state.
The Devonshire family recognise the importance of the structure and have deliberated over the years to what would be the best way to conserve it for years to come. In October of this year work began on the complete restoration of the Vinery. The craftsman of Queenstown Restoration, who have carried out similar restorations at Fota House in Cork, began to dismantle and salvage as much of the original material as possible, restoring it and rebuilding the structure, including the 4 missing bays. We are very excited here at Lismore Castle Gardens to see such an important part of the gardens history returned to its full glory and it will be a great asset and resource for all to enjoy. Work is planned to be completed by spring 2021.
