PAXTON, Joseph - b. 1803 Milton Bryan, d. 1865 Sydenham, London - WGA

PAXTON, Joseph

(b. 1803 Milton Bryan, d. 1865 Sydenham, London)

English architect, horticulturist, gardener. He is best known for designing the Crystal Palace and for cultivating the Cavendish banana, the most consumed banana in the Western world.

He became a garden boy at the age of fifteen at Battlesden Park, near Woburn. In 1823, he obtained a position at the Horticultural Society’s Chiswick Gardens. In the same year he got the position of head gardener at Chatsworth, which was considered one of the finest landscaped gardens of the time. One of Paxton’s first projects was to redesign the garden around the new north wing of the house and expand Chatsworth’s collection of conifers into a 40-acre (160,000 m2) arboretum which still exists. He became skilled at moving mature trees.

In 1832, Paxton developed an interest in greenhouses at Chatsworth. After experimentation, he designed a glass house with a ridge and furrow roof that would be at right angles to the morning and evening sun and an ingenious frame design that would admit maximum light: the forerunner of the modern greenhouse. Constant experimentation over a number of years led him to devise the glasshouse design that inspired the Crystal Palace.

Between 1836 and 1841 he built the Great Conservatory at Chatsworth, a huge glasshouse, 69 m long and 37 m wide. The columns and beams were made of cast iron, and the arched elements of laminated wood. 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.

Although he remained the Head Gardener at Chatsworth until 1858, he was also able to undertake outside work such as the Crystal Palace and his directorship of the Midland Railway. He worked on public parks in several cities. In 1850, he 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.

Paxton was a Liberal Member of Parliament for Coventry from 1854 until his death in 1865.

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Distant view

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 Ferri�res at Ferri�res-en-Brie near Paris to be “Another Mentmore, but twice the size”. Both buildings still stand today.

Exterior view
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Exterior view

Between 1836 and 1841 Joseph Paxton built the Great Conservatory at Chatsworth, a huge glasshouse, 69 m long and 37 m wide. The columns and beams were made of cast iron, and the arched elements of laminated wood. 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.

The Great Conservatory was demolished in the 1920s.

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Exterior view

The Crystal Palace was a cast-iron and plate-glass structure originally built in Hyde Park, London, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. The exhibition took place from 1 May until 15 October 1851, and more than 14,000 exhibitors from around the world gathered in its 92,000 m2 exhibition space to display examples of technology developed in the Industrial Revolution. Designed by Joseph Paxton, the Great Exhibition building was 564 m long, with an interior height of 39 m. It was three times the size of St Paul’s Cathedral.

The introduction of the sheet glass method into Britain by Chance Brothers in 1832 made possible the production of large sheets of cheap but strong glass, and its use in the Crystal Palace created a structure with the greatest area of glass ever seen in a building. It astonished visitors with its clear walls and ceilings that did not require interior lights.

After the exhibition, the Palace was relocated to an area of South London. It was rebuilt next to Sydenham Hill, an affluent suburb of large villas. It stood there from June 1854 until its destruction by fire in November 1936.

Exterior view
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Exterior view

Château de Ferri�res was built between 1855 and 1859 for Baron James de Rothschild by Joseph Paxton. The inspiration for the design was Mentmore Towers in Buckinghamshire, England, the house that Paxton had built for Baron James’s cousin, Mayer Amschel de Rothschild.

The photo shows the main fa�ade.

Exterior view
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Exterior view

Château de Ferri�res was built between 1855 and 1859 for Baron James de Rothschild by Joseph Paxton. The inspiration for the design was Mentmore Towers in Buckinghamshire, England, the house that Paxton had built for Baron James’s cousin, Mayer Amschel de Rothschild.

The photo shows the back fa�ade.

Exterior view
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Exterior view

Château de Ferri�res was built between 1855 and 1859 for Baron James de Rothschild by Joseph Paxton. The inspiration for the design was Mentmore Towers in Buckinghamshire, England, the house that Paxton had built for Baron James’s cousin, Mayer Amschel de Rothschild.

Built in the Neo-Renaissance style with square towers at each corner, the house sits on a formal terrace that gives way to 1.25 km2 of gardens in a parkland landscaped a l’anglaise that was part of a surrounding 30 km2 forest contained in the estate. The showpiece central hall is 37 m long and 18 m high, its roof a full glass skylight. The sculpting of the interior atlas columns and caryatids was by Charles Henri Joseph Cordier, and the decorative painting was supervised by Eug�ne Lami. The massive library held more than 8,000 volumes. The Château was inaugurated 16 December 1862 with a gala attended by Napoleon III.

The photo shows the Ball Room.

Exterior view
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Exterior view

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 Ferri�res at Ferri�res-en-Brie near Paris to be “Another Mentmore, but twice the size”. Both buildings still stand today.

The photo shows the main fa�ade.

Exterior view
Exterior view by

Exterior view

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 Ferri�res at Ferri�res-en-Brie near Paris to be “Another Mentmore, but twice the size”. Both buildings still stand today.

General view
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General view

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 Ferri�res at Ferri�res-en-Brie near Paris to be “Another Mentmore, but twice the size”. Both buildings still stand today.

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