When Beth Gregg and her partner Janus Intelmann were hunting for antique cloches to use in their own small garden in Bath back in 2020, they soon realized that few of those surviving cloches had stood the test of time.
Photography courtesy of Claverton Cloches except where noted.
With a burgeoning order list, they moved to a larger studio, and then last year they relocated again to a bucolic stone barn just outside Bath.
Claverton’s Victorian Cloche protecting young plants in late winter.
Again, the glass cutting and puttying skills are all self-taught.”
Photograph by Jason Ingram.
Brass details contrast beautifully with the painted iron structure.
Photograph by Jason Ingram.
Beth at work in the studio, applying putty to a cloche in a bespoke color. While the antique cloches are susceptible to rust, Claverton Cloches are galvanized and powder-coated, made to last a lifetime.
The new octagonal cloche add an architectural detail to the veg patch.
It took nine months to create a prototype but they weren t happy with the results so they began again from scratch twice Another hurdle was the floating glass joint in the octagonal two panes of glass butt together with...
...no putty or metal in between so the tolerance for error is low and the glass edge has to be sanded to the correct angle so it is smooth to touch but it was worth it for the lightness it provides
Photograph by Jason Ingram.
A row of cloches are used to get early spring crops started in the vegetable garden.
The cloche is effectively a mini greenhouse (the original square Victorian cloche can be stacked to bring on taller plants including tomatoes and chillies) that allows gardeners to extend the season and grow many more plants.
Up close the original Victorian Cloche. In addition to producing cloches in bespoke colors (at an additional cost), Claverton has launched a restoration service for antique cloches.