Opening a window on world of glasshouses

THEY ARE a legacy of horticulture dating back to the Victorian era, giving both city dwellers and rural communities the chance to re-connect with nature.

And now an exhibition is being staged at one of the finest regency country houses in Yorkshire to celebrate the history of glasshouses.

Artist Ann Davies will be displaying her work at Scampston Hall, near Malton, to illustrate the beauty of glasshouses, inspired in part by the Victorian conservatory within the estate’s walled garden.

The Saltaire-based artist’s exhibition will combine pen-andink drawings with watercolours to depict glasshouses in Yorkshire.

She has received national recognition for her work, and last year one of her paintings was accepted by the Royal Watercolour Society for the Contemporary Watercolour Exhibition at The Bankside Gallery in London.

Ms Davies said: “When I first visited Scampston many years ago, it was the wonderful glasshouse that impressed me most. I simply fell in love with glasshouses, greenhouses and glass palaces from the grandest to the humblest.

“Drawing is very important to me and features strongly in my work – glasshouses appeal to my love of structure, beauty and functionality. The relationship between the greenhouse and the natural surroundings and its role in nurturing plants is one that fascinates me. This exhibition celebrates Glasshouses of Yorkshire from the sublime to the unloved and derelict.”

The conservatory at Scampston Hall was derelict in 2014, but it has undergone a major restoration, paid in part with money from the Heritage Lottery Fund, and it is now used as a heritage and learning centre.

The exhibition in the garden café will run until August 20.