Scientist of the Day - Decimus Burton

Palm House, Kew Gardens, London, designed by Decimus Burton and Richard Turner, recent photograph (Wikimedia commons)

Decimus Burton, an English building and landscape architect, was born Sep. 30, 1800, in London. Decimus was the son of a notable London property developer, James Burton, but Decimus preferred design to management, and he rapidly rose to become one of London's premier architects, designing most of the terraces (buildings) that surround Regent's Park, for example, as well as the Ionic Screen that serves as park entrance.

Portrait of Decimus Burton, lithograph by Maxim Gauci, 1830s, National Portrait Gallery, London (npg.org.uk)

One of his first notable buildings was the Athenaeum Club (as we Americans call it; in London, it is just the Athenaeum).  I am sure he got the job because his father was the building contractor. But considering he was just 26 years old when he started, he did a rather amazing job (third image).  The club president, John Croker, wanted an Athenian frieze on the facade, and Burton designed it himself, drawing inspiration from the Elgin Marbles, which the English had just liberated from the Parthenon. Getting it carved almost broke the budget.

Athenaeum Club, London, designed by Decimus Burton, engraving, 1830 (Wikimedia commons)

But in order for Burton to qualify as a Scientist of the Day, he had to have designed something with a science connection. The Athenaeum Club might qualify, since many notable scientists, such as Humphry Davy and Michael Faraday, were members, but the London Zoo is even better. It was founded in 1826 as the Zoological Society of London Zoological Gardens, and opened (but not to the public) in 1828.   Burton designed the entire establishment – buildings, ponds, walkways. Not much of the original zoo remains, but a contemporary print shows the Camel House at the left and an octagonal aviary of Burton’s design (fourth image).

London Zoological Gardens, designed by Decimus Burton, lithograph, 1830s (londonzoo.org)

But the two most spectacular buildings that Burton designed were two "glass houses" built for the Royal Gardens at Kew. The first was the Palm House, and the second was the Temperate House. The first large English greenhouse, the “Great Stove,” had been built in 1841 by Burton and Joseph Paxton at Chatsworth in Derbyshire. The Palm House for Kew Gardens was quite a bit bigger, some 360 feet long and 66 feet tall, built completely of glass and wrought iron (first image). The iron was supplied by iron master Richard Turner of Dublin; there is considerable disagreement as to whether Burton or Turner played the bigger role in the design. That controversy will not be resolved here.

Temperate House, Kew Gardens, London, aerial photograph (kew.org)

The Kew Palm House housed tropical plants; more temperate plants needed a building less warm, hence the Temperate House, designed by Burton (and Turner?) and opened at Kew in 1863 (but not finished until after his death). This is almost twice as long as Palm House and contains some 15,000 panes of glass. Their Windex budget must be a hefty one (fifth image). 

Entrance to Temperate House, Kew Gardens, London, after renovation, photograph, 2018 (thespaces.com)

The Temperate House recently emerged from 5 years of renovation, and the Palm House is scheduled to go under the wire-brush in 2027 for a further 5 years.  So if you would like to admire Burton's botanical architecture from the inside, sooner would be better than later.

Wrought-iron staircase, Temperate House, Kew Gardens, London, after renovation, photograph, 2018 (thespaces.com)

As for who designed what, I will offer my two cents after all.  One look as the entryway to Temperate House (sixth image) or an interior staircase (seventh image), suggests to me that a master architect was at work, not an expert craftsman.  But let the documents decide, even if they have not spoken very clearly so far.

William B. Ashworth, Jr., Consultant for the History of Science, Linda Hall Library and Associate Professor emeritus, Department of History, University of Missouri-Kansas City. Comments or corrections are welcome; please direct to ashworthw@umkc.edu.