The Orangery

We enjoyed Margam Park so much yesterday we decided to pay it another visit today. We went earlier, before it got too warm.
This is the Orangery at Margam and was built between 1787 and 1793 to house a large collection of orange, lemon and citron trees inherited by Thomas Mansel Talbot together with the Margam Estate and the now vanished Margam House from his Mansel forebearers. It is listed Grade 1 as one of the finest classical buildings in Wales.
The Orangery is the dramatic and magnificent centrepiece to the Gardens. Designed in 1787 by Anthony Keck, it is of regular classical composition , magnificently ornamental in appearance and superbly functional in design. Aligned east-west and at 327 feet in length, it is the longest Orangery in Britain.
A collection of orange trees was maintained at Margam right up to the outbreak of the second world war when the Orangery was requisitioned for military use and was occupied by American forces. The trees had to be left outside and failed to survive the winter weather. After the end of the war a new collection of citrus was formed at Margam and using this collection as the nucleus, the present owners continue to build up a collection of various citrus trees and can be viewed today within the Orangery. The complete restored Orangery was opened by Her Majesty the Queen during her Silver Jubilee visit in June 1977. Thus an 18th century ornamental building was brought more fully into a 20th century Margam Park and it continues to be used in this 21st century as a prestigious venue hosting a variety of activities.