Wentworth Woodhouse Camellia House

The Camellia House at Wentworth Woodhouse had been listed on the Historic England ‘Buildings at Risk’ register before this sensitive conservation project which has seen the at-risk heritage building transformed into a tearoom. 

Architects Watson and Pritchett designed the Camellia House in 1812, but its oldest parts date from 1738. It later became home to some of the first camellias to arrive in Britain from China and Japan. After the owners departed in the 1980s, the Camellia House fell into decline, and the camellias became overgrown, reaching through the broken roof. A key challenge for the project was to restore the roof in a way that would not disturb the flowers and help conserve them for the future.

We worked alongside architects Donald Insall Associates to provide MEP services for the project. 

The greenhouse is heated with underfloor heating to provide internal conditions suitable for the protection of the 200-year-old camellias with the secondary benefit of improving comfort for visitors. Natural ventilation will ensure a constant supply of cooling fresh air in summer and allow humidity control to suit the camellias, and a rainwater harvesting system provides rainwater for watering the camellias naturally rather than the chemically treated mains water. 

A ground source heat pump will provide heating to the building for the first time since the original coal fire heating system was decommissioned.