The development of many British institutions comes not only as the result of magnificent successes but also the lessons that come from abject failure, and one of the best examples of this is in the Golden Age of conservatories.
Modern conservatories are particularly inspired by the beautiful, efficient and long-lasting designs of the Victorian era, which found a way to create awe-inspiring designs that were easy to mass produce and easy to repair as a result.
However, one of the greatest catalysts to this Golden Age is one that a lot of designers, architects and builders perhaps would rather forget was a day of disaster that took place on 30th August 1833, the day before the unveiling of one of the most ambitious conservatories yet to be built.
The Legacy Of Anthaeum
There had been conservatories and sunrooms made before Antheum, with the most famous English example likely to be Syon House, completed in 1827.
However, the grand scale of Anthaeum was unlikely anything that had been seen before in a project designed for the general public to explore.
It was originally conceived in 1822 in Brighton as The Level, a residential square that would also feature an Asian garden and a gigantic conservatory filled with exotic flowers, trees and an indoor lake.
However, the money for the project ran out before either could be created, but a decade later in nearby Hove, the plan was revived by architect Amon Henry Wilds and botanist Henry Phillips, with the new Anthaeum having an even grander scale. Modern accounts compare the concept to the Eden Project in Cornwall.
However, there were huge problems by the time construction started in the autumn of 1832.
Nobody involved, from Sir Isaac Goldsmid who owned the land to Mr Wilds, Mr Phillips, building contractor Mr English and chief engineer Mr C. Hollis, wanted to take ownership of the project, and instead of being a team of experts the group worked as individuals often at odds with the overall project.
The most fateful decision was not to build a central pillar as was devised by Mr Wilds and agreed to by Mr Hollis. Mr English and his team refused for reasons that have been lost to time, and as a result of this, both men resigned from the project.
Without that central pillar to keep the domed glazed design in place and a reduction in the size of supporting roof structures, the result was painfully inevitable.
Mr English removed the scaffolding structure despite Mr Phillips looking for advice from a civil engineer about the safety of doing so, reportedly taking the second opinion as a covert criticism of his work.
The structure cracked within an hour of the last section being removed and the building collapsed extremely quickly. Mr Phillips reportedly went blind as a result of the shock of the incident.
However, despite this infamous failure, in 1850, Joseph Paxton asked if the original designs were available, with the cautionary tale helping to shape the creation of The Crystal Palace, one of the biggest conservatories of the entire Golden Age and one that continues to inspire conservatories to this day.