The Building - an historical context
A glint of reflected sunlight above the trees, Sefton Park Palm House is the embodiment of 19th century aspirations for cultural improvement, individual patronage and the new age of industrialized construction.
Sefton Park Palm House sits in a very different context today. This is no longer an age of plant hunters collecting specimens indiscriminately from foreign lands, but one where environmental concerns are increasingly at the forefront. The collection of plants from all over the world today serves to remind us of the richness and diversity of our environment.
In the 19th century the lush plantings in this stunning greenhouse may well have seemed exotic. In these days of cheap flights and increased leisure time, being able to visit the countries of origin is within many more people's reach. It is even possible to buy many of the plants on display at the local nursery or through the global internet.
How many buildings made for the enjoyment of public visits today are built to last over 100 years? Mackenzie and Moncur, iron founders in Edinburgh, were well known in the late 19th century for their elaborate cast iron glasshouses when they made and constructed the Palm House in Sefton Park. As one of the main hothouse builders of the day their buildings also included a wing of the Temperate House, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh and the Winter Garden at Stanley Park .
As an industrial process, using cast Iron is an economic building method with standard parts made as prefabricated components, which can then be produced in any number as required. Other buildings by Mackenzie and Moncur used these same components but in different combinations, creating different shapes.
Other examples of cast iron used in building in Liverpool, are St Michaels Church or even prefabricated components in the structure of the Albert Dock buildings
The original construction included underground water tanks fed from the roof through the columns.
