Longleat House, The Orangery

Longleat House is a stately home about 4 miles west of Warminster in Wiltshire. A leading and early example of the Elizabethan prodigy house, it is a Grade I listed building and the seat the Thynn family, who have held the title of Marquess of Bath since 1789. Longleat is set in 1,000 acres of parkland landscaped by Capability Brown.

The house was built by Sir John Thynne and designed mainly by Robert Smythson, after Longleat Priory was destroyed by fire in 1567. It took 12 years to complete and is widely regarded as one of the finest examples of Elizabethan architecture in Britain.

The Orangery at Longleat is Grade 1 listed, designed by Sir Jeffry Wyatville @ 1807. Nestled in the formal gardens, the limestone structure features seven large glazed bays, Doric pilasters and a classical coved plaster ceiling.

We returned this spring to complete the refurbishment after a successful trial in 2025 on two windows.

Windows, 5 metres high, and doors were removed and stripped back to the bare wood, glass removed, timbers repaired and reglazed. As much historic glass was retained, repaired, conserved and returned to its original position, as possible. New Wibble Restoration Glass supplied by Hereford Glass was sought to match the existing irreparable glass as closely as possible. The first 3 panes were replaced with toughened Wibble Glass. Hand-applied, glazing putty was used and windows were redecorated with Broun & Co. Linseed paint, ‘Clotted Cream’ (10) and ‘Restoration White’ (3).

For convenience a temporary protection/bubble, complete with Air Vac extractor fan, was created within The Orangery.