Joseph Paxton

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Sir Joseph Paxton, around 1860

Sir Joseph Paxton (born August 3, 1803 in Milton Bryan , Bedfordshire , † June 8, 1865 on Rockhill near Sydenham ) was an innovative English botanist , author , architect , shareholder and politician and a member of the Royal Horticultural Society . He worked as a gardener for William Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire , who gave him financial support to experiment with plants and glass greenhouses. Paxton published the results of his research work in books and numerous weekly and monthly magazines. At the same time he took over the planning of landscaped gardens and residential buildings as an architect. For the construction of the Crystal Palace , the exhibition building of the 1st World Exhibition in London in 1851, he was knighted by Queen Victoria . He was in contact with important English personalities such as Charles Dickens , George Stephenson and Charles Darwin and was director of the Midland Railway . From 1854 until shortly before his death he held a seat in the House of Commons for Coventry . Its official botanical author abbreviation is " Paxton ".

Life

childhood and education

Jacaranda jasminoides . Illustration from Paxton's Magazine of Botany drawn by Joseph Paxton

Joseph Paxton was born on August 3, 1803 in Milton Bryne, Bedfordshire. His father William (1759–1810) and his mother Anne (1761–1823) ran a small farm and had to raise their nine children under the harsh conditions of the pre-industrial era with minimal financial means. Although education was not a priority in farming families at the time and children usually had to work in the fields from an early age, Joseph Paxton most likely attended primary school in nearby Woburn , which was established by the 1st Duke of Bedford . After the unexpected death of his father, the then seven-year-old Joseph was raised by his eldest brother, also William. When the latter was entrusted with the management of the estate of John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford, in Battlesden Park in Woburn in 1816 , he hired his younger brother as a gardener. There he was able to gain his first experience in the field of botany . After two years, Joseph moved to the Woodhall estate in Walton , Hertfordshire , where he worked under the renowned gardener William Griffin , who later became one of the first members of the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). In the years when Paxton was a simple gardener, he considered emigrating to the USA.

Chiswick Gardens: The 6th Duke of Devonshire as a sponsor

The 18th Century Chatsworth Estate , painted by William Marlow

In 1821 the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) rented the Chiswick Gardens near the Chiswick Estate from William Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire (1790-1858), to create a botanical experimental garden there. At the age of 20, Joseph Paxton applied to the RHS and was a gardener for part of Chiswick Gardens . Since he had not yet reached the minimum age for admission to the Society, he gave his year of birth as 1801 - a false statement that can still be found in some literature about Paxton today. The Duke took regular walks through Chiswick Gardens and was so enthusiastic about Paxton's work that in 1826 he offered him the job of head gardener in one of his other properties - Chatsworth House - which had one of the most beautiful parks of the time. Despite the different social backgrounds, a deep friendship developed between Cavendish and the simple gardener Joseph Paxton. The Duke was friends with the writers Charles Dickens , Leigh Hunt and William Makepeace Thackeray , among others .

Chatsworth Gardens: The Path to Architecture from His Palace

Emperor Fountain in Chatsworth Gardens . Water fountain with a height of up to 100 meters

On May 9, 1826, Paxton began his work at Chatsworth Gardens near Bakewell in Derbyshire , where he met the housekeeper's niece, Miss Sarah Bown (1800–1871), and married her a year later. Sarah's father was a major farmer and paid them a £ 5,000 dowry - an enormous amount compared to the £ 70 a year Joseph was earning as head gardener. Sarah Paxton enthusiastically supported her husband in all business and organizational matters and was involved in many decisions. Great importance for his career is attributed to her. The marriage had eight children.

Since the Chatsworth House was being expanded at that time in the form of a new north wing, Joseph Paxton's work initially consisted of replanting the surrounding parking area. In doing so, he perfected the imitation of rock gardens and water cascades, so that they could almost no longer be distinguished from natural ones. Due to his outstanding achievements, he was also appointed chief forester in 1829. He put on a pinetum , a collection of different coniferous plants that was later expanded to an arboretum with deciduous trees. During this period he tried out methods of moving large, growing trees. The milestone was the transport of several palm trees by horse and cart from Walton-on-Thames to Chatsworth, the largest of which weighed over twelve tons. Gradually he was able to gain Cavendish's trust, was given responsibility for the entire Chatsworth estate and was allowed to accompany the Duke on several trips abroad, including to Switzerland, Athens, Constantinople and Paris, where they visited the palace gardens of Versailles .

During this time Joseph Paxton was able to summarize and publish his research results and experiences. From 1831 to 1836 he published the monthly magazine Horticultural Register , which was supplemented three years later by the Magazine of Botany and Register of Flowering Plants . This year he published the book A practical Treatise on the Cultivation of the Dahlia together with John Lindley , with whom he then wrote the Pocket Botanical Dictionary , Paxton's Flower Garden and the Calendar of Garden Operations for twelve years . The weekly magazine The Gardeners' Chronicle published in 1841 was so successful that it was continued until 1986 and Charles Darwin could be won as an author.

In 1846 he also invested £ 25,000 in The Daily News , which was being edited by Charles Dickens at the time. But he had no active participation as an author. Through his busy business life he came into contact with greats in the railway industry such as Thomas Brassey , George Stephenson and his son Robert Stephenson . In 1848 he was offered the post of director of the Midland Railway through these relationships .

Joseph Paxton first encountered architecture under the guidance of British architect Jeffry Wyatville while expanding the Chatsworth Estate . Between 1838 and 1842 he planned several buildings in the Italianate style in Chatsworth Park , a forerunner of Victorian architecture and a year later his private house and office, from which he undertook independent commissions in the following years, mainly the design of public gardens in the new industrialized Cities such as Princes Park in Liverpool or Birkenhead Park in Birkenhead . For the planned visit of Tsar Nicholas I in 1844, he also designed the Emperor Fountain , an almost 100 meter high water fountain, which is fed by a 75,000 cubic meter pressure reservoir on a hill and still works today without additional mechanical pumps.

Greenhouses as the forerunners of the Crystal Palace

Annie, the daughter of Joseph Paxton, is borne by a leaf of Victoria amazonica in the specially designed greenhouse in the Royal Botanic Gardens . Published in the Illustrated London News on November 17, 1849
Main facade and transept of the Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, London

In 1828 Joseph Paxton began extensive experiments with glass houses in Chatsworth Garden , which at that time were growing steadily due to the rapidly growing plant collections, some of which were exotic plants from colonized countries, and had to meet higher demands. Paxton was not very impressed by the large-scale supporting structures with ornamental decorations that were customary up to now, as they took away a lot of light and tried to optimize the light by using slimmer structures. First attempts with the then new material cast iron did not seem promising to him, so he continued to rely on wooden beams for the time being. In order to optimize the transmission and reflection of the sun on the surface of the greenhouses, Paxton developed the tongue-and-groove connection , which is still used today , in which pairs of inclined glass plates are lined up to form a ridge and a channel, which is made up of braced girders with integrated channels for the drainage of rain and condensation water.

Joseph Paxton used this system in 1841 when building the Great Conservatory (large plant house) in Chatsworth Park , with external dimensions of approx. 85 × 35 meters and a height of 20 meters, at the time the largest glass house in the world. Despite the high maintenance and operating costs, it was in operation until after the First World War and served as a model for many other greenhouses.

When the first water lily Victoria amazonica was transported from the Amazon to England in 1846 , it was found that the plant continued to grow in the glass houses that were common at the time, but did not flower. Joseph Paxton was able to attract international attention with his design for a greenhouse in the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew , which offered the ideal climatic conditions for the water lily. A round, heated water basin was kept in constant motion by a water wheel like a river and protected by a steel-glass construction, which provided ideal light irradiation at any time of the day. The building also had a wooden floor with joints through which air for air conditioning could flow in from the underside and dirt and sewage could flow away from the top. When the plant began to flower after a few months, Paxton was allowed to travel to Windsor and present the first flower to Queen Victoria. With a diameter of almost two meters, the leaves were so stable that they could easily carry Paxton's seven-year-old daughter Annie on the water - a picture of this was published in the Illustrated London News (see images).

The crystal palace

Queen Victoria opens the 1st World Exhibition in the Crystal Palace
The rebuilt and expanded Crystal Palace with park and one of the two distinctive water towers in Sydenham (Crystal Palace Park), 1854
Mentmore Towers in Buckinghamshire, 2006

1849 decided Prince Albert and the Royal Society of Arts , a connection of British bankers and industrialists, the first World Exposition ( Great Exhibition ) to organize, to be shown on British products in comparison with international competitors to clarify their quality level and the markets to expand. For this purpose, the Royal Commission was founded, which announced an architectural competition to build an exhibition hall in London's Hyde Park . However, the 245 submissions were all rejected by the jury as impractical or unaffordable and the commission began to work out its own design with a half-dome made of brick with a diameter of more than 60 meters, which was also not feasible in terms of costs and construction time.

John Ellis, the chairman of the board of directors of Midland Railway, who was involved in the planning process for the World's Fair, told Paxton about these issues at a business meeting. Two weeks before the deadline, he began to develop his own ideas for the exhibition building, drawing on his experience in greenhouse construction. After visiting the construction site, he quickly sketched a design with all the essential elements and details on drawing paper, which can now be seen in the Victoria and Albert Museum . Joseph Paxton presented his ideas to Prince Albert on June 24th. Although he was extremely enthusiastic about the project, the Royal Commission wanted to carry out their own design due to the lack of time. Paxton therefore published his plans in the Illustrated London News and was able to arouse so much enthusiasm in the population that it was finally decided to carry out his building. Renowned railway personalities such as William Henry Barlow and Charles Fox were hired to work out the supporting structure for the steel and glass building , with the help of which the planning was completed on July 10th.

Since only nine months remained until the beginning of the world exhibition, standardized steel elements were used in the 560 meter long, 137 meter wide and 32 meter high structure, which were largely prefabricated and only screwed together at the factory. A patented system with 26 mobile trolleys on rails was developed for the assembly of the glass roof. Two glaziers could sit on a cart to assemble the large glass elements. The glass fields on the roof and on the south facade were clad with calico fabric for sun protection . 500 painters reworked the steel construction - at times up to 2000 construction workers were on the job at the same time. The exhibition building could be completed in this way in only six months and was named Crystal Palace because of its glass structure . The World's Fair lasted from May 1 to October 11, 1851 and was a great success. Joseph Paxton received international recognition for his work and was knighted bachelor's degree in October 1851 for his services .

The building site in Hyde Park was only made available on the condition that the building would be dismantled after the world exhibition. When the House of Commons voted to demolish the Crystal Palace , Paxton founded a company through which they bought both the Crystal Palace and land on Penge Place in Sydenham (now known as Crystal Palace Park ) for the construction of the building there to be able to rebuild in an enlarged version as an event and exhibition building. The right transept burned down in 1866 and was not replaced. In front of the building, Paxton designed a park based on the model of the Palace Park Versailles with cascades, lakes and more than 12,000 water fountains, for which two water towers were necessary to generate pressure. The Crystal Palace of Sydenham burned down in November 1936 and was not replaced.

Architecture and politics

Ferrières-en-Brie Castle , 2005

After the success of the Crystal Palace , Joseph Paxton tried to establish together with his son-in-law and architect George Henry Stokes with designs for exhibition buildings in New York and Paris, the roofing of the inner courtyard of the Roxal Exchange in London and the glass sanatorium of the London Chest Hospital . However, none of these projects was carried out because this architectural style did not meet the classicist or historicist demands of the 19th century. In 1850 Amschel Mayer von Rothschild commissioned him to plan the Mentmore Towers, including a spacious landscaped park. His cousin Jakob Rothschild had Paxton design the Ferrières Castle in Ferrières-en-Brie . He was also able to expand a house in Aston Clinton ( Buckinghamshire ) and a house in Pregny-Chambésy and plan public parks such as Kelvingrove Park or Queen's Park in Glasgow .

Together with Samuel Hereman, he produced a prefabricated greenhouse that was also affordable for the upper middle class. It was marketed in the Gardener's Chronicle as a "greenhouse for millions" in order to grow grapes for the table, among other things. It was one of the most popular glass houses ever. One specimen has survived to this day in the gardens of Heligan .

Paxton's grave in the village cemetery of Edensor

In December 1854, Paxton became a Member of the House of Commons for the constituency of Coventry. After the import tariffs on silk from France were lifted, unemployment rose rapidly in Coventry, which at the time was largely based on the silk industry. In his role as a politician, Joseph Paxton's good business relationships attracted employers from other industries and created jobs in the cotton industry. He later campaigned for the construction of the Thames Graving Docks .

After the Duke of Devonshire's death in 1858, Joseph Paxton resigned from the Dukes' estate but was allowed to stay at his home in Chatsworth Gardens . During his years as an architect and politician, Joseph repeatedly struggled with health problems. When his condition deteriorated further in 1865, he had to resign his parliamentary function completely and died on June 8, 1865. Paxton is buried in the village cemetery of Edensor at Chatsworth House , where the Dukes of Devonshire are also buried.

Taxonomic honor

The genus Paxtonia Lindl was named in his honor . named from the orchid family (Orchidaceae).

Works

buildings

Park designs

  • Princes Park , Liverpool, 1842
  • Birkenhead Park , Birkenhead, 1844
  • Kelvingrove Park , Glasgow, 1852
  • Queen's Park , Glasgow, 1857

Fonts

  • Horticultural Register, and General Magazine of all useful and interesting discoveries connected with Natural History and rural Subjects. Baldwin and Craddock, London 1831-1836.
  • Magazine of Botany, and Register of Flowering Plants. 1834-1849, ISSN  0268-411X .
  • Gardeners' Chronicle . 1841-1843, 1874-1986, ISSN  0309-1147 .

together with John Lindley :

  • A practical Treatise on the Cultivation of the Dahlia. WS Orr & co., London 1838.
  • Pocket Botanical Dictionary comprising the Names of all Plants known in Britain. J. Andrews, London 1840.
  • Paxton's Flower Garden. Bradbury & Evans, London 1850-1853.
  • The Cottager's Calendar of Garden Operations. Gardeners' Chronicle, London 1851 (numerous editions).

See also

literature

  • John Anthony: Joseph Paxton. An Illustrated Life of Sir Joseph Paxton, 1803-1865 (= Lifelines 21). Shire Publications, Aylesbury 1973, ISBN 0-85263-208-8 .
  • George F. Chadwick: The Works of Sir Joseph Paxton. 1803-1865. Architectural Press, London 1961.
  • Kate Colquhoun: A thing in disguise. The visionary life of Joseph Paxton. Fourth Estate, London et al. 2003, ISBN 0-00-714353-2 .
  • Violet R. Markham: Paxton and the Bachelor Duke. Hodder & Stoughton, London 1935.
  • John McKean: Crystal Palace. Joseph Paxton and Charles Fox. Phaidon Press, London 1994, ISBN 0-7148-2925-0 .
  • Peter Prange: The rebel (= Knaur 63160). Knaur, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-426-63160-7 .

Web links

Commons : Joseph Paxton  - album with pictures, videos and audio files
Commons : Illustrations from Paxton's Magazine of Botany  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Family tree of Sir Joseph Paxton ( memento of the original from July 15, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Accessed January 27, 2011.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.ge35.dial.pipex.com
  2. ↑ Kate Colquhoun: A thing in disguise. The visionary life of Joseph Paxton. Fourth Estate, London et al. 2003, ISBN 0-00-714353-2 , p. 11.
  3. ↑ a b c www.orchids.co.in/orchidologists/joseph-paxton.shtm ( Memento from October 30, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
  4. ↑ Kate Colquhoun: A thing in disguise. The visionary life of Joseph Paxton. Fourth Estate, London et al. 2003, ISBN 0-00-714353-2 , pp. 13-14.
  5. ^ A b John Anthony: Joseph Paxton. An Illustrated Life of Sir Joseph Paxton, 1803-1865 (= Lifelines 21). Shire Publications, Aylesbury 1973, ISBN 0-85263-208-8 , p. 6.
  6. ↑ History of the RHS on the official website www.rhs.org.uk ( Memento of the original from February 1, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Accessed January 24, 2011.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.rhs.org.uk
  7. ↑ Kate Colquhoun: A thing in disguise. The visionary life of Joseph Paxton. Fourth Estate, London et al. 2003, ISBN 0-00-714353-2 , p. 80.
  8. ↑ John Anthony: Joseph Paxton. An Illustrated Life of Sir Joseph Paxton, 1803-1865 (= Lifelines. 21). Shire Publications, Aylesbury 1973, ISBN 0-85263-208-8 , p. 19.
  9. ↑ George F. Chadwick: The Works of Sir Joseph Paxton. 1803-1865. Architectural Press, London 1961, p. 30.
  10. ↑ John Anthony: Joseph Paxton. An Illustrated Life of Sir Joseph Paxton, 1803-1865 (= Lifelines 21). Shire Publications, Aylesbury 1973, ISBN 0-85263-208-8 , p. 12.
  11. ↑ Illustrated London News , November 17, 1849, p. 328.
  12. ↑ a b www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/paxton_joseph.shtml . Accessed January 21, 2011.
  13. ^ Victoria and Albert Museum: Facsimile of the First Sketch for the Great Exhibition Building, Museum no. E. 941-1983 . Accessed January 26, 2011
  14. ↑ History of the 1st World Exhibition on www.expo2000.de ( Memento of the original from September 19, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Accessed January 24, 2011.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.expo2000.de
  15. ^ The London Gazette : 21257, 2812 , October 28, 1851.
  16. ↑ Kate Colquhoun: A thing in disguise. The visionary life of Joseph Paxton. Fourth Estate, London et al. 2003, ISBN 0-00-714353-2 , p. 193.
  17. ↑ www.victorianstation.com/palace.html ( Memento of the original from April 14, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Accessed January 24, 2011.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.victorianstation.com
  18. ↑ The Crystal Palace Museum's website at www.crystalpalacemuseum.org.uk ( memento of the original from September 25, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Accessed January 26, 2011.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.crystalpalacemuseum.org.uk
  19. ^ A b John Anthony: Joseph Paxton. An Illustrated Life of Sir Joseph Paxton, 1803-1865 (= Lifelines 21). Shire Publications, Aylesbury 1973, ISBN 0-85263-208-8 , p. 38
  20. ↑ Tim Smit : The lost Gardens of Heligan. Revised edition. Victor Gollancz, London 1999, ISBN 0-575-06765-9 , pp. 189 f.
  21. ^ The City of Coventry: Parliamentary representation at www.british-history.ac.uk . Accessed January 21, 2011.
  22. ↑ John Anthony: Joseph Paxton. An Illustrated Life of Sir Joseph Paxton, 1803-1865 (= Lifelines 21). Shire Publications, Aylesbury 1973, ISBN 0-85263-208-8 , p. 45.
  23. ↑ Lotte Burkhardt: Directory of eponymous plant names - Extended Edition. Part I and II. Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin , Freie Universität Berlin , Berlin 2018, ISBN 978-3-946292-26-5 doi: 10.3372 / epolist2018 .
  24. ↑ http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/d0ea45ea-109c-11e3-b5e4-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2gGhktDvo
personal data
SURNAME Paxton, Joseph
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Paxton, Sir Joseph
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English botanist, architect
DATE OF BIRTH August 3, 1803
PLACE OF BIRTH Milton Bryant
DATE OF DEATH June 8, 1865
Place of death at Sydenham