Georgian Conservatory

Georgian conservatory style, similar to the Edwardian style of conservatory.

This conservatory is characterised by lightness and airiness, with more subdued lines than the ornate Victorian style.

The Georgian conservatory style features a flat front and a square or rectangular symmetrical shape. This makes the Georgian conservatory a really handy shape for laying out furniture and plants, with no wasted space. The Georgian conservatory typically has a high, sloping roof style that gives a spectacular vaulted effect. Your conservatory floods with light, making it a bright, airy and uplifting room.

Georgian conservatories were originally built on period homes from the 18th and early 19th centuries, and the style has been replicated on many neo-Georgian homes ever since. Own one and you’ve every right to feel posh, because the Georgian conservatory was originally the preserve only of those with style and the very rich who lived in stately homes. The Georgian conservatory was highly exclusive, coming as they did before the boom Victorian time for conservatories.

So what was Georgian architecture like? The Georgian period, which covered 1714 to 1830, was highly symmetrical and proportionate and had its roots in the highly fashionable work of Andrea Palladio, a sixteenth-century Venetian architect. We can trace the symmetry and boldness of today’s Georgian conservatory back to this Palladian style.

Ultraframe conservatory

Georgian conservatory style also pulls features from Greek and Roman architecture, as the Georgian period threw up many Greek and Roman ruins, the style of which the architects of the time were quick to copy.

The Georgian conservatory style has grown in popularity recently. Obviously, you can add your Georgian conservatory onto any style of building, but the very grand style works best with existing Georgian architecture, typified by red-brick houses with white woodwork and white-stone cornices.

In the days of the King Georges, the original Georgian conservatory style featured very few windows, as glass was costly and let the cold in. This is the major difference with today’s Georgian conservatory. With lots of light and airy glass, today’s Georgian conservatory has echoes of its ancestors only in its architecture, such as window frames and style of brick used in the base. If you need planning permission, these are authentic features that you’ll appreciate.

Lean-to conservatories style

The Lean To conservatory is the simplest of conservatories in terms of design and its clean lines help it maintain a contemporary look which still makes it a popular choice of conservatory style today.

The Lean-to conservatory, or Mediterranean conservatory, is the simplest style of conservatory, with clean lines that give it a contemporary look and make them a popular conservatory for modern houses. This conservatory style will be ideal for you if you prefer the simple, understated lines of a Mediterranean sunroom.

Whether your lean-to conservatory is traditional or contemporary, the style is perfect for properties that have restricted space under the eaves, like a bungalow, or have an area that’s too awkward to accommodate a conservatory. This is because the pitch of the roof on lean-to conservatories can vary – so a shallow pitch can fit under a low bungalow roof and a steeper one would be ideal for a terraced house.

Lean-to conservatories can also be called sunrooms or garden rooms, and they bring a flavour of the Mediterranean into your home, trapping the winter sunlight and converting it into heat through the glass. The simple shape of the lean-to conservatory gives you the maximum space in a highly economical style.

With Ultraframe, you can have this conservatory style in one of two roof systems. The Elevation roof features Ultraframe click-lock technology and the ever-popular Classic system.

These types of conservatories have their origins in greenhouses that were built to face the southern sun. This attracted the sun and offered shelter against cold north winds. These days, a Mediterranean conservatory style is number one on the list of people wanting to improve their homes.

Lean-to conservatories have a simple design and, with at least one wall already built, they save time and labour, which saves money. A Mediterranean conservatory style is not an expensive option, because of its simplicity, and with heating, electricity and water readily available from the house, installation and maintenance costs are lower.

A lean-to conservatory can also improve the energy balance of your house, provide shelter and catch the winter sun. You can use your conservatory as a greenhouse, a playroom, a dining room, lounge or kitchen. And now, with great features like floor heating and double-glazing available for your Mediterranean conservatory, you can have a new living area room for a fraction of the usual price.

Victorian Style Conservatory

The Victorian conservatory is the most popular style of conservatory and it suits all styles of house and home whether it be a period property or a new build. When people think of a conservatory it is the Victorian style that comes to most people's minds.

The Victorian conservatory is the most popular style of conservatory. That’s because the Victorian conservatory suits all house styles – be they period property or a new build. The Victorian conservatory springs most readily to mind when people think of conservatory styles.

The Victorian conservatory style includes a bay front, a steeply pitched roof and ornate ridge details. These days, of course, your Victorian conservatory, made out of modern materials such as PVCu and aluminium, is built to last.

Victorian conservatory styles comprise the three-facet Victorian, featuring a bay front with three main windows at wide angles, and the five-facet Victorian. This conservatory style also has a bay front but with five main windows for space as well as aesthetics.

Ultraframe Victorian conservatory in Irish Oak

At Thomas Tonks, our Classic roof system gives your Victorian conservatory a distinguished and classical appearance. Your Victorian conservatory can also be configured in any design. It was the Victorian era in which the nation’s love of the conservatory blossomed. This was because of the Victorians’ love of foliage and exotic plants, which required a method of keeping plants alive during the cold winter months. In the 19th century, Victorian conservatory styles were created with ever-more-elaborate details to complement the period homes of the time. Victorian conservatory styles often included a Gothic shape to the windows and doors and complicated shapes in the roof, which was often steeply pitched, just like the roofs of Victorian houses.

A Victorian conservatory should blend with the property and not look like an afterthought. However old your property, though, your Victorian conservatory will have modern double-glazing, electric ventilation and underfloor heating.

Ideally, your Victorian conservatory’s painted exterior will match the exterior of your property. Victorian conservatory styles often featured thin frames and glass. For manufacturers of modern Victorian conservatories, the trick is to replicate this style and still meet Building Regulations.

So, whether you want three or five facets, white or oak, your Thomas Tonks Victorian conservatory will look classic and elegant as well as being highly versatile and pleasing on the eye. At Tonks Tonks, all our Victorian conservatory styles are made to suit your needs. It’s your choice about the finish you have or the position of the doors.