Cranbrook Area Guide

A practical heritage gardening day for garden enthusiasts, amateur and expert alike! Floristry workshops all day. Free entry. Donations welcome. Have you ever wandered around a park or garden and wondered about the people who created it? A talk, entitled "The Head Gardener With a Fertile Pen of Ink" by garden historian Francesca Murray about the life and times of William Earley and his fascinating and varied career in Victorian horticulture. William Earley was head gardener at Valentines during the ownership of Sarah Ingleby. Francesca will be helping us get under the muddy fingernails of an impressive Redbridge gardener who personified the entrepreneurial style of Victorian gardening, from the networks of head gardeners, garden journalists, and garden owners, to the illustrations and advice from his practical and entertaining publications, including High-Class Kitchen Gardening. The Rosery and the American Gardens in Valentines Park date from around Williams garden headship in the late nineteenth century, but he was also a celebrated writer on gardens and expert vegetable and fruit grower. William was a Committee member of the Gardeners Royal Benevolent Institution in the 1860s, advocating for the cause of indigent and elderly gardeners who had been left with nothing at the end of their careers. Francesca is a garden historian, teacher and lecturer who delights in nineteenth century horticulture. She has completed her PhD at Queen Mary University of London, researching nineteenth-century gardeners, nurserymen, and the associations that came to their aid and has a Masters in Garden History from Buckingham University (2015). Her book 'The Eighth Wonder of the World, Exbury Gardens and The Rothschilds' with Lionel de Rothschild, was published in 2019 (Exbury Gardens Trust). Francesca teaches garden history on the RHS Diploma of Horticulture course at RHS Wisley and London. She is a Trustee of the Gardens Trust and a member of their Education & Training committee. She lectures at the Garden Museum and to horticultural societies around the country. She is a guest speaker for Perennial (formerly known as the Gardeners Royal Benevolent Institution). Pre-booked seats for the talk will be held until ten minutes before the start time.