Sir Joseph Paxton (1803–1865) was an English gardener and architect of The Crystal Palace. 1803 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... 1865 (MDCCCLXV) is a common year starting on Sunday. ... The English are an ethnic group associated with England and the English language. ... Architect at his drawing board, 1893 An architect is a person involved in the planning, designing and oversight of a buildings construction. ... The Great Exhibition in Hyde Park 1851. ...

He was born on 3 August 1803 at Milton Bryant, Bedfordshire. (Some references, incorrectly, list his birth date as 3 August 1801. This is, as he admitted in later life, a result of misinformation he provided in his teens, which enabled him to enrol at Chiswick Gardens.) August 3 is the 215th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (216th in leap years), with 150 days remaining. ... 1803 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Bedfordshire is a county in England and forms part of the East of England region. ... August 3 is the 215th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (216th in leap years), with 150 days remaining. ... The Union Jack, flag of the newly formed United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. ...

He became a garden boy, and in 1823 obtained a position at the Horticultural Society's Chiswick Gardens. These were close to the gardens of William Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire at Chiswick House. After a chance meeting, and on impulse, the Duke offered the 23-year-old Paxton the position of Head Gardener at Chatsworth. 1823 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... William George Spencer Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire (1790 - 1858), was known as the Bachelor Duke. In 1811, at the age of 21, he inherited eight stately homes and 200,000 acres (809 km²) of land. ... Chiswick House Chiswick House is a Palladian villa in Burlington Lane, Chiswick, London W4, England. ... A view of Chatsworth from the south-west in 1880. ...

On his first morning at Chatsworth, Paxton met Sarah Bown, the housekeeper's niece. They later married. He enjoyed a very friendly relationship with his employer who recognised his diverse talents and facilitated his rise to prominence.

In 1837, Paxton started the Great Conservatory or Stove, a huge cast-iron heated glasshouse. At the time, the Conservatory was the largest glass building in the world. However, it was prohibitively expensive to maintain, and it was destroyed in 1923. It took five attempts to blow it up. | Queen Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom (1837 - 1901) 1837 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Annie Paxton standing on a Victoria amazonica leaf in the lily house; Paxton's design for the Crystal Palace took its cue from the organic structure of this plant.

The Great Conservatory was the test-bed for the prefabricated glass and iron structural techniques which Paxton pioneered and would employ for his masterpiece: The Crystal Palace of the Great Exhibition of 1851. These techniques were made physically possible by recent technological advances in the manufacture of both glass and cast iron, and financially possible by the dropping of a tax on glass. Download high resolution version (1409x949, 286 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Download high resolution version (1409x949, 286 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Species Victoria amazonica (Poepp. ... The Great Exhibition in Hyde Park 1851. ... The Great Exhibition: Paxtons Crystal Palace enclosed full-grown trees in Hyde Park. ... 1851 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

In 1850 Paxton was commissioned by Baron Mayer de Rothschild to design Mentmore Towers in Buckinghamshire. This was to be one of the greatest country houses built during the Victorian Era. Following the completion of Mentmore, Baron James de Rothschild, one of Baron de Rothschild's French cousins, commissioned Château de Ferrières at Ferrières-en-Brie near Paris to be "Another Mentmore, but twice the size". Both buildings still stand today. 1850 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Baron Mayer Amschel de Rothschild (1818 – 1874) was the third son of Nathan Mayer Rothschild (1777 – 1836). ... Mentmore in the 1990s Mentmore Towers is a large English country house in the village of Mentmore in Buckinghamshire. ... Map of Bucks (1904) Buckinghamshire (abbreviated Bucks) is a county in South East England. ... Queen Victoria (shown here on the morning of her Accession to the Throne, 20 June 1837) gave her name to the historic era The Victorian era of Great Britain is considered the height of the British industrial revolution and the apex of the British Empire. ... James Mayer Rothschild. ... Château de Ferrières Château de Ferrières is a French château built between 1855 and 1859 by Baron James de Rothschild. ... The Eiffel Tower, the international symbol of the city For other uses, see Paris (disambiguation). ...

Paxton also designed another country house, a smaller version of Mentmore at Battlesden near Woburn in Bedfordshire. This house was bought by the Duke of Bedford thirty years after its completion, and wantonly demolished, because the Duke wanted no other mansion close to Woburn Abbey. Battlesden is a hamlet and civil parish in the Mid Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England. ... Map sources for Woburn, Bedfordshire at grid reference SP949331 Woburn is a small town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England. ... Bedfordshire is a county in England and forms part of the East of England region. ... The titles of Earl or Duke of Bedford were created several times in the peerage of England. ... The layout of Woburn before partial demolition. ...

He also worked on several other large projects at Chatsworth, such as the Arboretum, the Great Fountain, the Rock Garden and the Lily House. An arboretum is a botanical garden primarily devoted to trees and other woody plants, forming a living collection of trees intended at least partly for scientific study. ...

Between 1835 and 1839, he organised plant-hunting expeditions, one of which ended in tragedy. Tragedy also struck at home when his eldest son died. | Come and take it, slogan of the Texas Revolution 1835 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... 1839 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

Paxton was honoured by being a member of the Kew Commission which was to suggest improvements for Royal Botanic Gardens, and by being considered for the post of Head Gardener at Windsor Castle. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew are extensive gardens and botanical glasshouses between Richmond upon Thames and Kew in southwest London. ... Windsor Castle: The Round Tower or keep dominating the castle, as seen from the River Thames. ...

He became affluent, not so much through his Chatsworth job, but by successful speculation in the railway industry.

In October 1845 he was invited to lay out one of the country's first municipal burial grounds in Coventry. This became the London Road Cemetery. He later became a Liberal Member of Parliament for Coventry from 1854 until his death in 1865. 1845 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... The Precinct in Coventry city centre. ... The Liberal Party was one of the two major British political parties from the early 19th century until the 1920s, and a third party of varying strength and importance up to 1988, when it merged with the Social Democratic Party (the SDP) to form a new party which would become... A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters of an electoral district to a parliament; in the Westminster system, specifically to the lower house. ... 1854 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1865 (MDCCCLXV) is a common year starting on Sunday. ...

In 1831, Paxton published a monthly magazine, The Horticultural Register. This was followed in 1834 by the Magazine of Botany. There followed in 1840 the Pocket Botanical Dictionary, The Flower Garden in 1850 and the Calendar of Gardening Operations. In addition to these titles he also, in 1841, co-founded perhaps the most famous horticultural periodical, The Gardeners' Chronicle along with John Lindley, Charles Wentworth Dilke and William Bradbury and later became its editor. Leopold I 1831 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... 1834 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... 1840 is a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1850 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... take you to calendar). ... The contents page from a 1914 edition of the Chronicle The Gardeners Chronicle was perhaps the most famous of all Horticultural periodicals. ... John Lindley (February 8, 1799 - November 1, 1865) was an English botanist. ... Sir Charles Wentworth Dilke, 1st Baronet. ...

He died on 8 June 1865. June 8 is the 159th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (160th in leap years), with 206 days remaining. ... 1865 (MDCCCLXV) is a common year starting on Sunday. ...

References

"The City of Coventry Parliamentary representation." British History On-Line. URL accessed on May 16, 2005. May 16 is the 136th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (137th in leap years). ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Further reading

• Kate Colquhoun - A Thing in Disguise: The Visionary Life of Joseph Paxton (Fourth Estate, 2003) ISBN 0007143532
• George F Chadwick - Works of Sir Joseph Paxton (Architectural Press, 1961) ISBN 0851397212

External links

• Joseph Paxton Joseph Paxton's work on orchids
• BBC Historic Figures
• The Joseph Paxton Society
• Joseph Paxton - a biography from the landscape architecture and gardens guide
• Eddie Richardson's page on Sir Joseph Paxton - includes photgraphs and a family tree