Henry Phillips (horticulturist)
| Henry Phillips | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1779 Henfield, West Sussex, Great Britain |
| Died | 8 March 1840 (aged 60–61) Brighton, East Sussex, United Kingdom |
| Cause of death | Enteritis |
| Residence | 26 Russell Square, Brighton |
| Nationality | English |
| Occupation | Botanist, horticulturalist, landscape gardener, writer |
| Years active | 1820–1833 |
| Known for | The Level, Brighton; Oriental Garden, Brighton (proposed); Kemp Town Enclosures, Kemp Town, Brighton; Conservatory at Royal Surrey Gardens, Kennington, London (attr.); Anthaeum, Hove (destroyed) |
| Spouse(s) | Elizabeth Willmer married 18 Dec 1800 Petworth |
Henry Phillips (c. 1779 – 8 March 1840) was a botanist, horticultural writer and landscape gardener from the seaside resort of Brighton in England. After spending time as a banker and teacher in London and Sussex, he came to national attention for his botanical articles and books, and was renowned for his landscape gardening work in Brighton during its period of rapid growth. In the 1820s he became involved in several major schemes in the town and neighbouring Hove, encompassing gardens, conservatories and similar. His grandiose Anthaeum project, an elaborate indoor botanical garden topped by "the largest dome in the world", ended in disaster when the structure spectacularly collapsed just before its official opening.
Phillips was born in around 1779 in the West Sussex village of Henfield. The first 40 years of his life were spent in London and Sussex: he worked for a bank in Worthing and lived in the town, then moved to Brighton with his wife, Elizabeth Willmer who he had married on the 18 December 1800 at Petworth. In 1815 they moved to the Bayswater area of London, where Phillips opened "an academy for young gentlemen" and taught there. He and his wife returned to Brighton in 1823 and lived at Bedford Square on the seafront. Later they moved to nearby Regent Place.
During his time in Worthing and London, Phillips developed a strong interest in botany, horticulture and landscape gardening. By the 1820s, he was both locally and nationally known for his landscape gardening work and his writing, and he regularly gave botanical lectures in Brighton. His first book, Pomarium Britannicum, was published in 1820, and he wrote several others in the 1820s. He joined The Royal Horticultural Society and, in 1825, the Linnean Society of London. In 1824 when painter John Constable came to Brighton on one of his regular visits to help improve his wife's ill health, he met Phillips and they became friends; Phillips advised him on the correct plants to paint in the hedgerows he was depicting in his latest painting, The Cornfield.
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