AGM with a lecture by Francesca Murray on the Rothschilds as collectors of orchids.

The AGM will be held in the Lammas Room at Hill Close Gardens, Warwick followed
by a Lecture with Francesca Murray on the story of the Rothschild family’s passion
for orchids at Gunnersbury, Tring Park and at Exbury, based on her book, The Eighth
Wonder of the World, Exbury Gardens and The Rothschilds, co written with Lionel de
Rothschild. A cream tea will be available. Teas must be booked before October 24th .

“Those who invest in Orchids judiciously, and employ men of intelligence and skill to
grow them, will receive good interest for their capital.” [Frederick Burbidge, orchid
collector (1874)]

The story begins at Gunnersbury (the first Rothschild garden in England) where
Baroness Charlotte de Rothschild published a catalogue of her own rare orchids
from around the world. Cultivating these strange exotics in the Gunnersbury
glasshouses was highly experimental and devoted head gardeners shared their
findings between the family estates. Nathaniel de Rothschild and his son – the
famous zoologist Walter Rothschild – took up orchidology at Tring Park too.
Leopold’s son, Lionel (1882-1942), developed his first garden at the age of 5, and

took Gunnersbury orchids and rhododendrons with him to his new garden at Exbury,
Hampshire, in 1919. There his experiments in the scientific field of orchid
hybridisation resulted in a fine orchid collection of 28,000 plants by World War II.
This astonishing story provides a glimpse of how the Rothschilds’ investment
in their gardens paid off for the benefit of the wider gardening community and
is not to be missed!

Having worked in the design industry for many years including for the historic
interiors brands of Cole and Son, Warner and Co and Zoffany, Francesca changed
direction and studied horticulture and garden design at Berkshire College of
Agriculture, and Capel Manor. She ran her own garden design business for another
ten years. Studying garden history at Birkbeck in the evenings led to a Masters in
garden history on the Orchids of the Rothschilds at Buckingham University (2015).
A PhD at Queen Mary University of London researching ‘Nineteenth-century
Gardeners, Nurserymen, and the Associations that came to their Aid’ followed in
2021-25.
Francesca has published a number of garden history articles and is a trustee of the
Gardens Trust and a member of its Education and Training Committee. She teaches
garden history at RHS Wisley and the Lindley Library, London and is a regular
speaker for Perennial (formerly the Gardeners’ Royal Benevolent Institution).

Photo credit: Rothschild collections.

The lecture is free to members but tea is £7.75, non-members £12.75

Book here!