Helmsley Walled Garden has officially re-opened its historic orchid house as a space for exhibitions, crafts, plants and volunteer events following a £60,000 refurbishment.

The timber-framed glasshouse, which was originally built around 150 years ago, has undergone extensive refurbishment thanks to a £30,000 grant from the North York Moors National Park Authority, alongside £13,000 in public donations and further funding from additional local schemes.

Staff told by text message that Helmsley shop was closing

Assistant Garden Manager Tricia Harris pictured in the orchid house during appeal to raise restoration funds.

The project has seen all 976 panes of glass painstakingly removed and cleaned, while the timbers were repaired, strengthened, and redecorated and the opening mechanisms for the rooftop and wall vents were restored.

The orchid house was originally restored in 2003 and what had been left before that was described as an “absolute wreck” with no glass and trees growing through the walls.

The work at that time saved the structure, but the orchid house still needed to be transformed from a dated and dirty garden building into a shining example of Victorian design and a welcoming environment for both people and plants.

Tricia Harris, Assistant Garden Manager at the Helmsley Walled Garden, said: “We are absolutely delighted by what has been achieved for our beautiful and historic orchid house.

Restoration of the glass houses are part of a wider scheme to bring Helmsley's walled gardens back to life.

“So many different people and organisations have come together to support this work and the result is a usable and versatile space that will benefit not only our visitors and staff, but also local community groups, artists, craftspeople and our fabulous volunteers.”

The grant of £30k was awarded to Helmsley Walled Garden from the fund arising from Anglo American’s ‘section 106’ commitments to the National Park.

The firm is developing a polyhalite mine at a site near Whitby within the National Park and the planning agreement obliges the owner of the Woodsmith Project to fund schemes designed to enhance the environment, skills and economy of the local area, in order to offset the impact of constructing and running of the mine.

Briony Fox, Director of Conservation and Climate Change at the North York Moors National Park Authority, said: “It’s a pleasure to be able to support such a community-minded project in the beautiful town of Helmsley, and just around the corner from our own National Park headquarters.

“The Walled Garden is a well-known and loved feature of the North York Moors with a fascinating history and it’s important this is preserved for the enjoyment of all those who live in, work in or visit the area."

Matthew Parsons, General Manager External Affairs at Anglo American, said: “We take being located in the North York Moors National Park seriously and are proud to play a pivotal role in funding projects that benefit both local communities and the people who live in them.

“The Orchid House at Helmsley Walled Garden is not only a much-loved tourist attraction, but a hub for the local community and visitors to the area to benefit from, so it’s great that the renovation has been completed.”

Since completion, the orchid house has already been used to house an exhibition by local watercolour artist Clare Belbin and to host a celebration event for friends and supporters of the garden. Later this year the orchid house will see Christmas wreath and table decoration classes, along with further exhibitions and even herbal remedy workshops.

The work on the orchid house comes as part of a project to redevelop the walled gardens at Helmsley which nestle in the shadow of what was Helmsley Castle.

In its heyday the gardens would have provided vegetables, fruit and flowers for the estate owners, the Feversham family and a walled garden has stood on the site in Duncombe Park since 1758.

However, they withered and died after World War One, when the second Earl, Charles Duncombe, was killed commanding a battalion formed in Helmsley at the Somme. The family, including his nine-year-old heir, abandoned the house and leased it to a girls' school. The walled site became a market garden until the 1980s, and thereafter fell into dereliction when the owner retired.

A Victorian orchid house in the North York Moors has been restored in £60,000 project