By chance I found the headstone on William Murfin’s grave at St Nicholas, Chiswick. I had already discovered his will, but it threw up a question to which the inscription on this headstone provides the answer. William Murfin (1741-1813) was head gardener at Chiswick House by 1790 and worked for Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, on […]
Lecture for the London Parks and Gardens Trust, 7-8pm, 12 November 2012 at The Garden Museum SE1 7LB (map) Val Bott will be giving a lecture about some of the nursery gardeners of the Brentford & Chiswick area between 1680 and 1820. Her research has used local history and family history to discover the links […]
In the Royal Horticultural Society’s Wisley library is a hand-coloured copy of Hugh Ronalds’ handsome book on apples, Pyrus Malus Brentfordiensis, published in 1831. The illustrations were lovingly prepared by his daughter, Elizabeth, a talented artist who may personally have coloured a number of copies of the book. I was delighted to go to see […]