Paxton, Joseph 1803 - 1865

Joseph Paxton (1803-1865), MP, landscape gardener and architect, was born on 3 August 1803 at Milton Bryan in Bedfordshire. He was the youngest of eight children born to William Paxton, an agricultural labourer, and his wife Ann Rooke. After attending the free school at Woburn, Bedfordshire, Paxton worked as a garden boy and apprentice at various landed estates before moving to London in 1823, where he became a student gardener at the new gardens in Chiswick leased from the 6th Duke of Devonshire by the Horticultural Society of London (later the Royal Horticultural Society). In 1826 the duke recruited Paxton to be head gardener at his Chatsworth estate in Derbyshire.

In 1827 Paxton married Sarah Bown, the niece of the housekeeper at Chatsworth. They had eight children, six of whom survived.

Under Paxton's care the gardens at Chatsworth became famous. He was an expert plantsman, leading or organising plant-finding expeditions to different parts of the world. He designed many features at Chatsworth, including gardens, fountains and an arboretum, and the Great Conservatory which at the time of consruction (1836-1841) was the largest glass structure yet built. In 1850 he produced a similarly innovative design for the Lily House and this formed the basis - vastly scaled up - of his design for the Exhibition Hall at the Great Exhibition, which was held in Hyde Park in 1851. The success of the Crystal Palace made Paxton famous and he was awarded a knighthood in 1851.

Paxton was a fellow of the Linnean Society (1831); honorary fellow and vice-president of the Horticultural Society; member and vice-president of the Royal Society of Arts; associate of the Institution of Civil Engineers (1851); and a knight of the Russian order of St Vladimir (1845). He was a member of the Reform Club from 1847 and in 1854 was elected unopposed as Member of Parliament for Coventry.

Paxton’s employment at Chatsworth ended shortly after the death of the 6th Duke of Devonshire in January 1858. After that, he was closely involved with railway construction contracts, including projects in Spain, Mauritius, India, and Argentina. By 1863, however his health was in decline and he suffered a collapse in that year from which he did not recover. He died on 8 June 1865 at his home in Sydenham, south London, and was buried at Edensor, the estate village near Chatsworth in Derbyshire.