Robert James Petre, 8th Baron Petre
Encyclopedia
Robert James Petre, 8th Baron Petre (3 June 1713 – 2 July 1742) was a renowned horticulturist
and a British
peer
.
Lord Petre was the son of Robert Petre, 7th Baron Petre
(1689–1713) and his wife Catherine Walmesley (1697- 31 January 1785), heiress of the Walmesley family of Lancashire
. Petre was born three months after his father's death and spent his childhood at Ingatestone Hall
, instead of at Thorndon Hall
, the family seat, as his grandmother was still in residence there.
and horticulture
as a child, and by his teenage years was friends with some of the most eminent botanists, horticulturists and landscapers of the day, including; Philip Miller
, Keeper of the Chelsea Physic Garden
, Philip Southcote
, a leading pioneer of landscape design, and Peter Collinson, the Quaker
Haberdasher
turned horticulturist who was to remain a lifelong friend and colleague. In 1727, when he was 14, he received, as a Christmas gift from Ralph Howard, one of his mother’s suitors, a specially made pruning knife and saw, which, it is recorded, was “well taken”.
Robert’s interest in botany and horticulture was practical as well as academic. By 1729, it seems that, at least in part, he had taken over the management of his grandmother’s gardens at Thorndon
. The old lady herself evidently had a keen interest in horticulture, growing orange trees, ‘jesamines’ and myrtles in her greenhouses. In 1732 released from guardianship, his mother handed over to him by special permission the family estates. Now in complete control of Ingatestone
and Thorndon Hall
s, Robert was able to give full expression to his enthusiasms and immediately embarked on an ambitious plan to remodel both the house and the park, which had been held in Trust for him since his father’s death..
John Martin, visiting in 1729, was amazed by what he saw; he confessed he had never witnessed the like of the ‘stoves’ or hothouses
and found in them some species that he, a professional botanist, had never seen before. The raising of exotic species from seed was a particular passion of the time, encouraged by the work of Philip Miller
in developing the technique of using beds of tanner’s bark to achieve safely and efficiently the high soil temperatures required and Robert had adopted the technique to spectacular effect. Writing to Linnaeus some years later, Collinson exclaims, “Such stoves the world never saw, nor may ever again”.
The Great Stove, reputed to be the largest hothouse in the world, was fully 30 feet (9.1 m) high and contained trees and shrubs 10 to 25 feet (7.6 m) tall including specimens of Guava
, Papaw
, Plantain
, Hibiscus
, Hernandia
(Jack-in-a-Box), Cereus
cactus, Sago Palm
, Anotta (a red berry used for edible dye) and bamboo
cane. The walls were hung with trellises covered with Passion flower
s, a wide variety of Clematis
and creeping cereus
.
There were also two other stoves maintained at a slightly lower temperature for more temperate plants, a house 60 feet (18.3 m) long exclusively for the cultivation of bananas and pineapples and another the same size for storing apples. From these stoves came the first Camellia
to flower in this country and, in 1739, a gift of bananas sent to Sir Hans Sloane
(along with ‘2 uncommon fowls of the widgeon kind’).
Nonetheless, there were failures too; Robert was particularly fond of the white lilac and, on one occasion, culled sufficient seed to raise in his nursery 5,000 new plants. Unfortunately, the principles of plant genetics and cross-pollination
were then little understood; all but twenty of them bore purple blossom.
Between 1740 and 1742, some 60,000 trees of at least 50 different species were planted at Thorndon Hall. For the most part, these were arranged in mixed thickets, with dark green foliage contrasting with light green and blue green with yellow green, the whole set off by highlights of white bark or leaves with white undersides. This style of planting was not in itself a new idea but was made, in this case, particularly striking by the variety of effects achieved by the wide range of species including: Acacia
s, Acer (Virginia)
, Camphor Tree, Cedar (Lebanon)
, Cedar (Red)
, Cherry
(Pennsylvanian), Maple
(Virginia), Oak
(Carolina), Tulip Trees
.
By 1762, however, Collinson, on a visit to Thorndon, found a scene of desolation: the house was falling down, the nurseries overgrown and the stoves empty, apart from two date palms, a cactus and a few sickly shrubs.
The redesign of the estate by his son swept away much of Lord Petre's work, only traces of the plantings, the two mounts adjacent to the present house and the ruins of the ziggurat by the old mill pond can be found today. The menagerie only survives in the name of Menagerie Plantation. Furthermore Robert’s impressive botanic library, including 17 folio volumes of dried specimens, were sold, together with the rest of the family library by the unworldly 13th Lord and his mahogany cabinet with 20 drawers stuffed with botanic curiosities was turned into a wardrobe and the contents thrown away.
(1689–1716) and Anna Maria Webb (1690–1723) and great granddaughter of Charles II
and Moll Davis
. The couple had four children;
The young couple took up residence at Thorndon Hall
. Mary had her father’s remains put in the mausoleum at Thorndon. There is no entry about the funeral in the register; Rector Ewer was then an old man, and there are only four burials entered for that year. Perhaps the burial was secret. The sympathies of the Petre family may well have been with the old and young Pretenders, and although he had the bells of Ingrave
Church cast at Ingatestone, their success would have meant the supremacy once more of the Roman hierarchy; but it does not appear that they took any active part in the risings. He did maintain four missions, beside the one at Thorndon; Lord Petre maintained three at Ingatestone Hall
, Writtle Park and Crondon Hall.
. He died on 2 July 1742 at Ingatestone Hall
, soon after his 29th birthday, and was buried in the family vault at Ingatestone. His son being but an infant, there was no one else to carry forward his plans for the estates, and his widow then resided at Ingatestone Hall, where she died in 1760. She is the last Dowager Lady Petre who has lived in the old family mansion. At his death, Robert’s nurseries contained some 219,925 plants and his personal catalogue, now in the Passmore Edwards
Museum, lists 696 species.
– not in itself an exceptional honour since peers of the realm had an automatic right to membership but it is a mark of the esteem in which he was already held that his sponsor was John Martin, future Professor of Botany at Cambridge
. Furthermore, less than two years later, a Caribbean
genus
of the verbena family, which the plant collector, Dr. William Houston had identified, was named Petrea
in Robert’s honour.
On his death, the following poem, signed by Janus the Younger (probably a pseudonym for Philip Southcote), appeared in the Daily Advertiser:
Ye lilies rise, your sweets disclose.
Arise both hyacinth and rose.
Vi’lets in fragrant carpet spread,
Ye amaranths lift up your head,
Ye woodbines hung with pearly dew,
Carnations with your richest hue,
Spontaneous rise, rise ev’ry flower.
And form a monumental bower.
With sweets, with bloom, eternal rise.
To mark the ground where Petre lies.
Less sentimentally, his friend, Peter Collinson wrote of Petre in 1744;
“The death of the worthiest of men, the Right Hon. Lord Petre, has been the greatest loss that botany or gardening ever felt in this country … his skill in all liberal arts, particularly architecture, statuary, planning and designing, planting and embellishing his large park and gardens, exceeds my talent to set forth”.
And on the fly leaf of his catalogue of the plants in Thorndon Garden is inscribed this tribute;
“He was a fine, tall, comely man. Handsome, had the presence of a Prince, but so happily mixt that Love and Au was begat at the same time. The endowments of his mind are not to be described. Few excelled him in the liberal arts and sciences – a great Mechanic as well as a Mathematician, ready at figures and calculations, a fine taste for architecture, and drew and designed well himself – a great Ardour for every Branch of Botanic Science, – whoever sees his vast Plantations and his Catalogue will not doubt it. In his Religious way an Example of great Piety, Charity and Chastity. Strict in his Morals, of great Temperance and Sobriety, no Loose Word, no Double entendre ever dropt from his lips”.
Lord Petre was commemorated in a stucco
monument by the French sculptor Louis-Francois Roubiliac
which was housed in the Temple of Death in the country garden of Jonathan Tyers, the proprietor of Vauxhall Gardens
. The garden was at Denbies
, near Dorking
. The monument represented an angel blowing the last trump causing a stone pyramid to crumble to pieces and the corpse within it to throw aside the grave clothes and prepare to arise ‘with a mixture of joy and astonishment’. The epitaph was written by Mr. Robson, tutor to Petre’s children:
To the Memory ofmy great and much honoured FRIENDROBERT, Lord PETREOb. 2 Jul. 1742. Aet suae 29.This stone, ennobled by a PETRE’s name Changes its nature and becomes a gem, Bright with the virtue which appear’d in him:Bearing his name, it bears all moral good, And all the ancestry of blood:The saint, the friend, philosopher, and peer In all their lustre to your eyes appear Perusing PETRE only written here
Over the door of the temple, were further verses written by Robson, warning the reader to prepare for death. Robson was Lord Petre’s chaplain and tutor to his sons.
Horticulture
Horticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation including the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant breeding and genetic...
and a British
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
peer
Peerage
The Peerage is a legal system of largely hereditary titles in the United Kingdom, which constitute the ranks of British nobility and is part of the British honours system...
.
Lord Petre was the son of Robert Petre, 7th Baron Petre
Robert Petre, 7th Baron Petre
Robert Petre, 7th Baron Petre was a British peer, the son of Thomas Petre, 6th Baron Petre and his wife Mary Clifton, daughter of Sir Thomas Clifton. He succeeded to his title, at the age of 17, upon the death of his father....
(1689–1713) and his wife Catherine Walmesley (1697- 31 January 1785), heiress of the Walmesley family of Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
. Petre was born three months after his father's death and spent his childhood at Ingatestone Hall
Ingatestone Hall
Ingatestone Hall is a sixteenth century manor house in Essex, England. It was built by Sir William Petre, and his descendants live in the House to this day.Queen Elizabeth I of England spent several nights at the hall on her royal progress of 1561....
, instead of at Thorndon Hall
Thorndon Hall
Thorndon Hall is a Georgian Palladian country house within Thorndon Park, Ingrave, Essex, England, approximately two miles south of Brentwood and from central London....
, the family seat, as his grandmother was still in residence there.
Botany and Horticulture
He developed an interest in botanyBotany
Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...
and horticulture
Horticulture
Horticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation including the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant breeding and genetic...
as a child, and by his teenage years was friends with some of the most eminent botanists, horticulturists and landscapers of the day, including; Philip Miller
Philip Miller
Philip Miller FRS was a Scottish botanist.Miller was chief gardener at the Chelsea Physic Garden from 1722 until he was pressured to retire shortly before his death...
, Keeper of the Chelsea Physic Garden
Chelsea Physic Garden
The Chelsea Physic Garden was established as the Apothecaries’ Garden in London, England in 1673. It is the second oldest botanical garden in Britain, after the University of Oxford Botanic Garden, which was founded in 1621.Its rock garden is the oldest English garden devoted to alpine plants...
, Philip Southcote
Philip Southcote
Philip Southcote created an early example of the English landscape garden at Woburn Farm, near Addlestone, Surrey. It was the original ferme ornée , a term invented by Stephen Switzer in 1741 ....
, a leading pioneer of landscape design, and Peter Collinson, the Quaker
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
Haberdasher
Haberdasher
A haberdasher is a person who sells small articles for sewing, such as buttons, ribbons, zips, and other notions. In American English, haberdasher is another term for a men's outfitter. A haberdasher's shop or the items sold therein are called haberdashery.-Origin and use:The word appears in...
turned horticulturist who was to remain a lifelong friend and colleague. In 1727, when he was 14, he received, as a Christmas gift from Ralph Howard, one of his mother’s suitors, a specially made pruning knife and saw, which, it is recorded, was “well taken”.
Robert’s interest in botany and horticulture was practical as well as academic. By 1729, it seems that, at least in part, he had taken over the management of his grandmother’s gardens at Thorndon
Thorndon Hall
Thorndon Hall is a Georgian Palladian country house within Thorndon Park, Ingrave, Essex, England, approximately two miles south of Brentwood and from central London....
. The old lady herself evidently had a keen interest in horticulture, growing orange trees, ‘jesamines’ and myrtles in her greenhouses. In 1732 released from guardianship, his mother handed over to him by special permission the family estates. Now in complete control of Ingatestone
Ingatestone Hall
Ingatestone Hall is a sixteenth century manor house in Essex, England. It was built by Sir William Petre, and his descendants live in the House to this day.Queen Elizabeth I of England spent several nights at the hall on her royal progress of 1561....
and Thorndon Hall
Thorndon Hall
Thorndon Hall is a Georgian Palladian country house within Thorndon Park, Ingrave, Essex, England, approximately two miles south of Brentwood and from central London....
s, Robert was able to give full expression to his enthusiasms and immediately embarked on an ambitious plan to remodel both the house and the park, which had been held in Trust for him since his father’s death..
John Martin, visiting in 1729, was amazed by what he saw; he confessed he had never witnessed the like of the ‘stoves’ or hothouses
Greenhouse
A greenhouse is a building in which plants are grown. These structures range in size from small sheds to very large buildings...
and found in them some species that he, a professional botanist, had never seen before. The raising of exotic species from seed was a particular passion of the time, encouraged by the work of Philip Miller
Philip Miller
Philip Miller FRS was a Scottish botanist.Miller was chief gardener at the Chelsea Physic Garden from 1722 until he was pressured to retire shortly before his death...
in developing the technique of using beds of tanner’s bark to achieve safely and efficiently the high soil temperatures required and Robert had adopted the technique to spectacular effect. Writing to Linnaeus some years later, Collinson exclaims, “Such stoves the world never saw, nor may ever again”.
The Great Stove, reputed to be the largest hothouse in the world, was fully 30 feet (9.1 m) high and contained trees and shrubs 10 to 25 feet (7.6 m) tall including specimens of Guava
Guava
Guavas are plants in the myrtle family genus Psidium , which contains about 100 species of tropical shrubs and small trees. They are native to Mexico, Central America, and northern South America...
, Papaw
Papaya
The papaya , papaw, or pawpaw is the fruit of the plant Carica papaya, the sole species in the genus Carica of the plant family Caricaceae...
, Plantain
Plantain
Plantain is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa. The fruit they produce is generally used for cooking, in contrast to the soft, sweet banana...
, Hibiscus
Hibiscus
Hibiscus is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is quite large, containing several hundred species that are native to warm-temperate, subtropical and tropical regions throughout the world...
, Hernandia
Hernandiaceae
Hernandiaceae is the botanical name for a family of flowering plants. Such a family has been recognised by most taxonomists.The APG II system, of 2003 , also recognizes this family, and assigns it to the order Laurales in the clade magnoliids...
(Jack-in-a-Box), Cereus
Cereus
Cereus is a genus of cactus. The term cereus is also used to describe cacti with very elongated bodies, including columnar growth cacti and epiphytic cacti...
cactus, Sago Palm
Sago Palm
Sago Palm may refer to:* Metroxylon sagu, also called the True Sago Palm* Cycas revoluta, also called the King Sago Palm* Cycas rumphii, also called the Queen Sago Palm* Cycas circinalis, also called the Queen Sago Palm...
, Anotta (a red berry used for edible dye) and bamboo
Bamboo
Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....
cane. The walls were hung with trellises covered with Passion flower
Passion flower
Passiflora, known also as the passion flowers or passion vines, is a genus of about 500 species of flowering plants, the namesakes of the family Passifloraceae. They are mostly vines, with some being shrubs, and a few species being herbaceous. For information about the fruit of the passiflora...
s, a wide variety of Clematis
Clematis
Clematis is a genus of about 300 species within the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. Their garden hybrids have been popular among gardeners beginning with Clematis × jackmanii, a garden standby since 1862; more hybrid cultivars are being produced constantly. They are mainly of Chinese and Japanese...
and creeping cereus
Cereus
Cereus is a genus of cactus. The term cereus is also used to describe cacti with very elongated bodies, including columnar growth cacti and epiphytic cacti...
.
There were also two other stoves maintained at a slightly lower temperature for more temperate plants, a house 60 feet (18.3 m) long exclusively for the cultivation of bananas and pineapples and another the same size for storing apples. From these stoves came the first Camellia
Camellia
Camellia, the camellias, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. They are found in eastern and southern Asia, from the Himalaya east to Korea and Indonesia. There are 100–250 described species, with some controversy over the exact number...
to flower in this country and, in 1739, a gift of bananas sent to Sir Hans Sloane
Hans Sloane
Sir Hans Sloane, 1st Baronet, PRS was an Ulster-Scot physician and collector, notable for bequeathing his collection to the British nation which became the foundation of the British Museum...
(along with ‘2 uncommon fowls of the widgeon kind’).
Nonetheless, there were failures too; Robert was particularly fond of the white lilac and, on one occasion, culled sufficient seed to raise in his nursery 5,000 new plants. Unfortunately, the principles of plant genetics and cross-pollination
Pollination
Pollination is the process by which pollen is transferred in plants, thereby enabling fertilisation and sexual reproduction. Pollen grains transport the male gametes to where the female gamete are contained within the carpel; in gymnosperms the pollen is directly applied to the ovule itself...
were then little understood; all but twenty of them bore purple blossom.
Between 1740 and 1742, some 60,000 trees of at least 50 different species were planted at Thorndon Hall. For the most part, these were arranged in mixed thickets, with dark green foliage contrasting with light green and blue green with yellow green, the whole set off by highlights of white bark or leaves with white undersides. This style of planting was not in itself a new idea but was made, in this case, particularly striking by the variety of effects achieved by the wide range of species including: Acacia
Acacia
Acacia is a genus of shrubs and trees belonging to the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae, first described in Africa by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1773. Many non-Australian species tend to be thorny, whereas the majority of Australian acacias are not...
s, Acer (Virginia)
Maple
Acer is a genus of trees or shrubs commonly known as maple.Maples are variously classified in a family of their own, the Aceraceae, or together with the Hippocastanaceae included in the family Sapindaceae. Modern classifications, including the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system, favour inclusion in...
, Camphor Tree, Cedar (Lebanon)
Lebanon Cedar
Cedrus libani is a species of cedar native to the mountains of the Mediterranean region.There are two distinct types that are considered to be different subspecies or varieties. Lebanon cedar or Cedar of Lebanon Cedrus libani is a species of cedar native to the mountains of the Mediterranean...
, Cedar (Red)
Red Cedar
- Trees :* Toona ciliata, an Australian / Asian rainforest tree* Juniperus virginiana, a North American juniper* Thuja plicata, a North American tree in the cypress family- Places :Canada* Red Cedar Lake , a lake in the Temagami region...
, Cherry
Cherry Tree
Cherry Tree may refer to:* A tree that produces cherries* An ornamental cherry tree that produces cherry blossomsPlaces* Cherry Tree, Pennsylvania, a borough in Indiana County, Pennsylvania, United States* Cherry Tree, Oklahoma...
(Pennsylvanian), Maple
Maple
Acer is a genus of trees or shrubs commonly known as maple.Maples are variously classified in a family of their own, the Aceraceae, or together with the Hippocastanaceae included in the family Sapindaceae. Modern classifications, including the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system, favour inclusion in...
(Virginia), Oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
(Carolina), Tulip Trees
Liriodendron
Liriodendron is a genus of two species of characteristically large deciduous trees in the magnolia family .These trees are widely known by the common name tulip tree or tuliptree for their large flowers superficially resembling tulips, but are closely related to magnolias rather than lilies, the...
.
By 1762, however, Collinson, on a visit to Thorndon, found a scene of desolation: the house was falling down, the nurseries overgrown and the stoves empty, apart from two date palms, a cactus and a few sickly shrubs.
The redesign of the estate by his son swept away much of Lord Petre's work, only traces of the plantings, the two mounts adjacent to the present house and the ruins of the ziggurat by the old mill pond can be found today. The menagerie only survives in the name of Menagerie Plantation. Furthermore Robert’s impressive botanic library, including 17 folio volumes of dried specimens, were sold, together with the rest of the family library by the unworldly 13th Lord and his mahogany cabinet with 20 drawers stuffed with botanic curiosities was turned into a wardrobe and the contents thrown away.
Marriage and issue
On 2 May 1732 at St Paul’s Cathedral, Robert married Lady Henrietta Anna Mary Barbara Radcliffe, (Mary), (1716–31 January 1760), only daughter of the Earl of DerwentwaterJames Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Derwentwater
James Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Derwentwater was an English Jacobite, executed for treason. His death is remembered in an English traditional ballad, "Lord Allenwater", collected by Ralph Vaughan Williams in 1904 from the singing of Emily Stears.-Life:He was the son of Edward Radclyffe, 2nd Earl of...
(1689–1716) and Anna Maria Webb (1690–1723) and great granddaughter of Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
and Moll Davis
Moll Davis
Mary "Moll" Davis was a seventeenth-century entertainer and courtesan, singer and actress who became one of the many mistresses of King Charles II of England.- Early life, theatre career:...
. The couple had four children;
- Lady Katherine Anne Petre (26 August 1736-1783)
- Lady Barbara Petre (born 10 November 1738); married Thomas Giffard, 22nd of ChillingtonChillington HallChillington Hall is a Georgian country house near to Brewood, Staffordshire, four miles northwest of Wolverhampton, England. It is the residence of the Giffard family. The Grade I listed house was designed by Francis Smith in 1724 and John Soane in 1785...
- Lady Juliana Petre (born 21 December 1739)
- Robert Edward Petre, 9th Baron PetreRobert Edward Petre, 9th Baron PetreRobert Edward Petre, 9th Baron Petre was a British peer.Lord Petre was the son of Robert Petre, 8th Baron Petre , a renowned horticulturist, and Lady Henrietta Anna Mary Barbara Radclyffe , daughter of the 3rd Earl of Derwentwater who was the grandson of Charles II by his mistress Moll Davis.Lord...
(1742-2 July 1801).
The young couple took up residence at Thorndon Hall
Thorndon Hall
Thorndon Hall is a Georgian Palladian country house within Thorndon Park, Ingrave, Essex, England, approximately two miles south of Brentwood and from central London....
. Mary had her father’s remains put in the mausoleum at Thorndon. There is no entry about the funeral in the register; Rector Ewer was then an old man, and there are only four burials entered for that year. Perhaps the burial was secret. The sympathies of the Petre family may well have been with the old and young Pretenders, and although he had the bells of Ingrave
Ingrave
Ingrave is a village in south Essex. It is situated on and around the A128 road, 2 miles south of Brentwood.-Name and history:...
Church cast at Ingatestone, their success would have meant the supremacy once more of the Roman hierarchy; but it does not appear that they took any active part in the risings. He did maintain four missions, beside the one at Thorndon; Lord Petre maintained three at Ingatestone Hall
Ingatestone Hall
Ingatestone Hall is a sixteenth century manor house in Essex, England. It was built by Sir William Petre, and his descendants live in the House to this day.Queen Elizabeth I of England spent several nights at the hall on her royal progress of 1561....
, Writtle Park and Crondon Hall.
Death
Like his father, Lord Petre succumbed at an early age to smallpoxSmallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
. He died on 2 July 1742 at Ingatestone Hall
Ingatestone Hall
Ingatestone Hall is a sixteenth century manor house in Essex, England. It was built by Sir William Petre, and his descendants live in the House to this day.Queen Elizabeth I of England spent several nights at the hall on her royal progress of 1561....
, soon after his 29th birthday, and was buried in the family vault at Ingatestone. His son being but an infant, there was no one else to carry forward his plans for the estates, and his widow then resided at Ingatestone Hall, where she died in 1760. She is the last Dowager Lady Petre who has lived in the old family mansion. At his death, Robert’s nurseries contained some 219,925 plants and his personal catalogue, now in the Passmore Edwards
John Passmore Edwards
John Passmore Edwards was a British journalist, newspaper owner and philanthropist. The son of a carpenter, he was born in Blackwater, a small village between Redruth and Truro in Cornwall, United Kingdom.-Biography:...
Museum, lists 696 species.
Accolades
When Robert was 18, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal SocietyRoyal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
– not in itself an exceptional honour since peers of the realm had an automatic right to membership but it is a mark of the esteem in which he was already held that his sponsor was John Martin, future Professor of Botany at Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
. Furthermore, less than two years later, a Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of the verbena family, which the plant collector, Dr. William Houston had identified, was named Petrea
Petrea
Petrea is a genus of evergreen flowering vines native to Mexico and Central America. They have rough-textured leaves, hence the common name sandpaper vine. It looks somewhat similar to a tropical Wisteria....
in Robert’s honour.
On his death, the following poem, signed by Janus the Younger (probably a pseudonym for Philip Southcote), appeared in the Daily Advertiser:
Ye lilies rise, your sweets disclose.
Arise both hyacinth and rose.
Vi’lets in fragrant carpet spread,
Ye amaranths lift up your head,
Ye woodbines hung with pearly dew,
Carnations with your richest hue,
Spontaneous rise, rise ev’ry flower.
And form a monumental bower.
With sweets, with bloom, eternal rise.
To mark the ground where Petre lies.
Less sentimentally, his friend, Peter Collinson wrote of Petre in 1744;
“The death of the worthiest of men, the Right Hon. Lord Petre, has been the greatest loss that botany or gardening ever felt in this country … his skill in all liberal arts, particularly architecture, statuary, planning and designing, planting and embellishing his large park and gardens, exceeds my talent to set forth”.
And on the fly leaf of his catalogue of the plants in Thorndon Garden is inscribed this tribute;
“He was a fine, tall, comely man. Handsome, had the presence of a Prince, but so happily mixt that Love and Au was begat at the same time. The endowments of his mind are not to be described. Few excelled him in the liberal arts and sciences – a great Mechanic as well as a Mathematician, ready at figures and calculations, a fine taste for architecture, and drew and designed well himself – a great Ardour for every Branch of Botanic Science, – whoever sees his vast Plantations and his Catalogue will not doubt it. In his Religious way an Example of great Piety, Charity and Chastity. Strict in his Morals, of great Temperance and Sobriety, no Loose Word, no Double entendre ever dropt from his lips”.
Lord Petre was commemorated in a stucco
Stucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
monument by the French sculptor Louis-Francois Roubiliac
Louis-François Roubiliac
Louis-François Roubiliac was a French sculptor who worked in England, one of the four most prominent sculptors in London working in the rococo style, "probably the most accomplished sculptor ever to work in England", according to Margaret Whinney.-Works:Roubiliac was largely employed for portrait...
which was housed in the Temple of Death in the country garden of Jonathan Tyers, the proprietor of Vauxhall Gardens
Vauxhall Gardens
Vauxhall Gardens was a pleasure garden, one of the leading venues for public entertainment in London, England from the mid 17th century to the mid 19th century. Originally known as New Spring Gardens, the site was believed to have opened before the Restoration of 1660 with the first mention being...
. The garden was at Denbies
Denbies Wine Estate
Denbies Wine Estate near Dorking, Surrey has the largest vineyard in England with under vines, representing over 10% of the plantings in the whole of the United Kingdom. It has a visitors' centre which attracts around 300,000 visitors a year....
, near Dorking
Dorking
Dorking is a historic market town at the foot of the North Downs approximately south of London, in Surrey, England.- History and development :...
. The monument represented an angel blowing the last trump causing a stone pyramid to crumble to pieces and the corpse within it to throw aside the grave clothes and prepare to arise ‘with a mixture of joy and astonishment’. The epitaph was written by Mr. Robson, tutor to Petre’s children:
To the Memory ofmy great and much honoured FRIENDROBERT, Lord PETREOb. 2 Jul. 1742. Aet suae 29.This stone, ennobled by a PETRE’s name Changes its nature and becomes a gem, Bright with the virtue which appear’d in him:Bearing his name, it bears all moral good, And all the ancestry of blood:The saint, the friend, philosopher, and peer In all their lustre to your eyes appear Perusing PETRE only written here
Over the door of the temple, were further verses written by Robson, warning the reader to prepare for death. Robson was Lord Petre’s chaplain and tutor to his sons.
Notable accomplishments
- With the help of the American plant collector John BartramJohn Bartram*Hoffmann, Nancy E. and John C. Van Horne, eds., America’s Curious Botanist: A Tercentennial Reappraisal of John Bartram 1699-1777. Memoirs of the American Philosophical Society, vol. 243. ....
(described by Linnaeus as “The greatest natural botanist in the world”), Lord Petre was responsible for the first extensive planting of North American trees in Great BritainGreat BritainGreat Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
. Robert engaged Bartram to send him regular consignments of seed from the new world at five guineas per box. He also used the Dutch botanist J. F. GronoviusJan Frederik GronoviusJan Frederik Gronovius was a Dutch botanist notable as a patron of Linnaeus....
.
- Lord Petre was responsible in the late 1730s for the layout of the gardens at Worksop ManorWorksop ManorWorksop Manor is a stately home in the Dukeries area of Nottinghamshire. Traditionally, the Lord of the Manor of Worksop may assist a British monarch at his or her coronation by providing a glove and putting it on the monarch's right hand and supporting his or her right arm.Worksop Manor was the...
in NottinghamshireNottinghamshireNottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...
for his kinsman Edward, 9th Duke of NorfolkEdward Howard, 9th Duke of NorfolkEdward Howard, 9th Duke of Norfolk, Earl Marshal was a British peer. The son of Lord Thomas Howard and Mary Elizabeth Savile, he succeeded as Duke of Norfolk in 1732, after the death of his brother, Thomas Howard, 8th Duke of Norfolk.He married Mary Blount , daughter of Edward Blount and Anne...
(1686–1773). The plans extended over 1700 acres (6.9 km²) and included some garden buildings, an obeliskObeliskAn obelisk is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape at the top, and is said to resemble a petrified ray of the sun-disk. A pair of obelisks usually stood in front of a pylon...
, a hemicycle and a PalladianPalladian architecturePalladian architecture is a European style of architecture derived from the designs of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio . The term "Palladian" normally refers to buildings in a style inspired by Palladio's own work; that which is recognised as Palladian architecture today is an evolution of...
Bridge. Robert, who had travelled extensively on the Continent, must have been acutely aware that the appearance of the house was quite out of tune with the classical influence of the day. Although the Renaissance was late coming to England, he must have taken to heart Count Lorenzo Magalotti’s remarks about the house’s “tendency rather to the gothic and the rustic than to any chaste style of architecture”. Accordingly, in 1732, he engaged a Venetian architect, Giacomo LeoniGiacomo LeoniGiacomo Leoni , also known as James Leoni, was an Italian architect, born in Venice. He was a devotee of the work of Florentine Renaissance architect Leon Battista Alberti, who had also been an inspiration for Andrea Palladio. Leoni thus served as a prominent exponent of Palladianism in English...
, who worked in the style of Palladio and had done much to establish classical style, and a French surveyor, Sieur Bourginion, to assist him with the design of the garden. The links between the Petre and Norfolk families endured. In 1763, the Duke of Norfolk stood sponsor at the baptism of Hon Robert Edward Petre, eldest son of 9th Lord Petre. Joseph Spence wrote Petre "understood the colour of every tree, and always considered how he placed them one by another".