In Victorian Britain, Westonbirt House in Gloucestershire, the site of today’s National Arboretum, housed one of the world’s most celebrated orchid collections. Under owner Robert Holford, a wealthy orchid enthusiast, the estate boasted 21 specialized glasshouses covering an acre, filled with thousands of exotic specimens.

Holford spared no expense, dispatching collectors worldwide and reportedly paying the equivalent of £20,000 in today’s money for a single rare Dendrobium orchid. His head gardener William Stevens achieved numerous breeding breakthroughs, creating hybrids that won prestigious awards.

By 1900, the guidance of head grower H.G. Alexander saw Westonbirt orchids dominate prestigious flower shows. When Holford’s son, Sir George, died in 1926, he bequeathed the entire orchid collection to Alexander himself rather than letting it be sold.

This remarkable legacy continued until the 1950s, when the collection finally dispersed. Britain’s once-greatest private orchid collection vanished, a lost botanical treasure representing the peak of Victorian orchid mania.