A sense of wonder
‘If the Highlands represented health and freedom, Woburn was all gout and formal etiquette’
Improbable Pioneers of the Romantic Age Keir Davidson (Pimpernel Press £40)
IN 1823, an arresting glass structure appeared in the pleasure gardens of Woburn Abbey in Bedfordshire. This was not any old greenhouse, but an elegantly curving ‘heath house’, designed by Wyatville for a pioneering collection of the colourful and sweetly scented genus . Entered through a grand portico and lined with mirrors, it was elevated over an arcaded walkway to create an airy space for growing the rare heathers, which danced in the reflections. A pedimented ante-room, bathed in coloured light and decorated with paintings of the species, provided a library and reading alcove, emphasising that this innovative structure (regrettably demolished in 1949) was part of a serious botanical project—a collaboration between the Duke of Bedford and his