Paxton, Sir Joseph

Paxton, Sir Joseph

▪ British architect and botanist
born Aug. 3, 1801, near Woburn, Bedfordshire, Eng.
died June 8, 1865, Sydenham, near London

      English landscape gardener and designer of hothouses, who was the architect of the Crystal Palace for the Great Exhibition of 1851 in London.

      He was originally a gardener employed by the Duke of Devonshire, whose friend, factotum, and adviser he became. From 1826 he was superintendent of the gardens at Chatsworth, the duke's Derbyshire estate; he built in iron and glass the famous conservatory there (1840) and the lily house for the duke's rare Victoria regia (1850). Also in 1850, after a cumbersome design had been officially accepted by the Great Exhibition's organizers, Paxton's inspired plan for a building of prefabricated elements of sheet glass and iron was substituted. His design, based on his earlier glass structures, covered four times the area of St. Peter's, Rome, and the grandeur of its conception was a challenge to mid-19th-century technology. Although it was built within six months and he was knighted for his efforts (1851), it was not until later that the structure was seen as a revolution in style. In 1852–54 its components were moved to Sydenham Hill in Upper Norwood, where they remained (reerected in a different form from the original) until destroyed by fire in 1936.

      Paxton was a member of Parliament for Coventry from 1854 until his death. During the period of his glass structures, he also designed many houses in eclectic styles and laid out a number of public parks.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • PAXTON, SIR JOSEPH —    architect of the Crystal Palace, born in Bedfordshire, was originally a gardener in the service of the Duke of Devonshire, and promoted to the charge of the duke s gardens at Chatsworth, where he displayed the architectural ability in the… …   The Nuttall Encyclopaedia

  • Sir Joseph Paxton — noun English architect (1801 1865) • Syn: ↑Paxton, ↑Joseph Paxton • Instance Hypernyms: ↑architect, ↑designer …   Useful english dictionary

  • Joseph Paxton — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Paxton. Joseph Paxton Sir Joseph Paxton (né le 3 août 1803 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Joseph Paxton — noun English architect (1801 1865) • Syn: ↑Paxton, ↑Sir Joseph Paxton • Instance Hypernyms: ↑architect, ↑designer …   Useful english dictionary

  • Paxton — noun English architect (1801 1865) • Syn: ↑Joseph Paxton, ↑Sir Joseph Paxton • Instance Hypernyms: ↑architect, ↑designer …   Useful english dictionary

  • Joseph Paxton — Sir Joseph Paxton, ca.1860 Sir Joseph Paxton (* 3. August 1803 in Milton Bryant, Bedfordshire; † 8. Juni 1865 auf Rockhill bei Sydenham) war ein innovativer englischer Botaniker, Autor, Architekt, Gese …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Joseph Paxton — Sir Joseph Paxton Nacimiento …   Wikipedia Español

  • Joseph Paxton — Sir Joseph Paxton (3 August 1803 ndash; 8 June 1865) was an English gardener and architect, best known for designing the The Crystal Palace. Early lifeurl= http://www.vam.ac.uk/images/image/40943 popup.html title= Facsimile of the First Sketch… …   Wikipedia

  • Paxton — is an Anglo Saxon word derived from gardiner . The Paxtons: We Are One (1903) by William McClung Paxton [http://www.bngent.com/workbench/weareone.htm] ] As early as the 6th century, Anglo Saxons began crossing from the European continent and… …   Wikipedia

  • Paxton [2] — Paxton (spr. päckst n), Sir Joseph, Landschaftsgärtner und Architekt, geb. 3. Aug. 1803 zu Milton Bryant in Bedfordshire, gest. 8. Juni 1865 auf Rockhills bei Sydenham, erhob die Besitzungen des Herzogs von Devonshire in Chatsworth zu den ersten… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

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