the gardens of palmeira square occupy site of ill-fated anthaeum.
unable forget dream of gigantic domed conservatory, phillips revisited idea in 1830s. launching scheme under different name, anthaeum (meaning flower-house), secured land , finance sir isaac goldsmid, 1st baronet , engaged amon henry wilds architect. site provided goldsmid in hove, small town west of brighton beginning develop fashionable residential area: anthaeum built north of adelaide crescent, on work had started in 1830. structure large dome diameter of 165 feet (50 m) , height of 65 feet (20 m) (excluding 16-foot (4.9 m) cupola in centre), made of ribs of iron sunk 10 feet (3.0 m) soil , glazed. inside dome, enclosed area of more 1.5 acres (0.61 ha), phillips planned exotic garden tropical trees , plants, unusual shrubs, lake, birds , other features, not unlike modern eden project in cornwall . work started in late 1832, when deep foundations dug, , iron ribs steadily erected on next few months. disagreements emerged between wilds, phillips, project engineer mr hollis , contractor mr english, though, led dismissal or resignation of wilds , hollis. english, decision not build intended central supporting pillar led hollis , wilds abandoning project, continued working no proper supervision several months, despite phillips concerns; , on 30 august 1833, day before official opening, anthaeum spectacularly collapsed: immense ribs of iron snapped asunder ... , great part of [the structure], height fell, buried several feet deep in earth . shock made phillips go blind, , tangled wreckage not cleared away 17 years. palmeira square occupies site.
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