Misplaced Pages

#819180

62-555: Cowley was a member of the Kew Guild and active in the Kew Guild for Old Kewites, former and serving Kew Gardens staff. He also edited the Kew Guild Journal . After four years as journal editor or sub-editor from 1909 to 1914 and military service from 1914 to 1915, he became editor of The Garden in 1915/16 and carried on as a gardening writer until around 1936. His father Henry Cowley (died 3 April 1930 at Easton, Portland, Dorset )

124-496: A display of economically important heat-loving plants. It closes during the winter months. It was built to house Victoria amazonica , the largest known species of the water lily family Nymphaeaceae at the time. This plant was originally transported to Kew in vials of clean water and arrived in February 1849, after several prior attempts to transport seeds and roots had failed. Although various other members of Nymphaeaceae grew well,

186-568: A further 600 patients. During the First World War, Napsbury was used for and known as the County of Middlesex War Hospital, which treated wounded soldiers. Following the war, the hospital was returned to its original purpose. Although Napsbury suffered some bomb damage in the Blitz , it was in continuous use as a hospital until its official closure in 1998. However, until at least 2002 one building

248-416: A ginkgo ( Ginkgo biloba ), a pagoda tree, or scholar tree ( Styphnolobium japonicum ), an oriental plane ( Platanus orientalis ), a black locust, or false acacia ( Robinia pseudoacacia ), and a Caucasian elm or zelkova ( Zelkova carpinifolia ). A canopy walkway , which opened in 2008, takes visitors on a 200 metres (660 ft) walk 18 metres (59 ft) above the ground, in the tree canopy of

310-411: A labyrinth of pipes buried under the house at a depth where the temperature remains suitable all year round. The house is designed so that the maximum temperature should not exceed 20 °C (68 °F). Kew's collection of alpine plants (defined as those that grow above the tree line in their locale – ground level at the poles rising to over 2,000 metres (6,562 feet)), extends to over 7000. As

372-471: A manor house in neighbouring Richmond (then called Sheen). That manor house was later abandoned; however, Henry VII built Sheen Palace in 1501, which, under the name Richmond Palace , became a permanent royal residence for Henry VII . Around the start of the 16th century courtiers attending Richmond Palace settled in Kew and built large houses. Early royal residences at Kew included Mary Tudor 's house, which

434-404: A nursery for the royal children. It is a plain brick structure now known as Kew Palace . The Epicure's Almanack reports an anecdote of the garden wall as of 1815: "In going up Dreary Lane that leads to Richmond you pass along the east boundary wall of Kew Gardens, extending more than a mile in length. This dead wall used to have a most teasing and tedious effect on the eye of a pedestrian; but

496-580: A poor mendicant crippled seaman, some years ago, enlivened it by drawing on it, in chalk, every man of war in the British navy. He returns annually to the spot to refit his ships, and raises considerable supplies for his own victualling board from the gratuities of the charitable, who pass to and from Richmond." Some early plants came from the walled garden established by William Coys at Stubbers in North Ockendon . The collections grew somewhat haphazardly until

558-470: A short book on The Modern Rock Garden (still in print). His largest book, The Garden Year appeared in 1936, when his garden journalism career appears to end. Cowley was still energetically going abroad in his fifties, despite his shrapnel wounds, leading trips to the Swiss Alps in 1936. Alpine plants were to remain a passion of Herbert Cowley to the end of his life in 1968. He was an honorary life member of

620-413: A subeditor (later called Popular Gardening ). Herbert Cowley became Assistant Editor or Sub-Editor at a different title, The Garden in 1910. This was the magazine he was to return to as Editor after military service in 1915/6 until c. 1926. Cowley then edited Gardening Illustrated from 1923 to 1926. He appears also to have written garden articles for Country Life after 1911. He also worked (probably in

682-446: A woodland glade . Visitors can ascend and descend by stairs and by a lift . The walkway floor is perforated metal and flexes under foot; the entire structure sways in the wind. It was designed by David Marks . The accompanying photograph shows a section of the walkway, including the steel supports, which were designed to rust to a tree-like appearance to help the walkway fit in visually with its surroundings. A short video detailing

SECTION 10

#1732901742820

744-463: Is a botanic garden in southwest London that houses the "largest and most diverse botanical and mycological collections in the world". Founded in 1840, from the exotic garden at Kew Park, its living collections include some of the 27,000 taxa curated by Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew , while the herbarium , one of the largest in the world, has over 8.5 million preserved plant and fungal specimens. The library contains more than 750,000 volumes, and

806-555: Is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs . The Kew site, which has been dated as formally starting in 1759, although it can be traced back to the exotic garden at Kew Park, formed by Henry, Lord Capell of Tewkesbury , consists of 132 hectares (330 acres) of gardens and botanical glasshouses , four Grade I listed buildings , and 36 Grade II listed structures, all set in an internationally significant landscape. It

868-411: Is also now used to exhibit the winners of the photography competition. The Orangery was designed by Sir William Chambers , and was completed in 1761. It measures 28 by 10 metres (92 by 33 ft). It was found to be too dark for its intended purpose of growing citrus plants and they were moved out in 1841. After many changes of use, it is currently used as a restaurant. The Palm House (1844–1848)

930-508: Is considered "the world's most important surviving Victorian glass and iron structure". The structure's panes of glass are all hand-blown. The Temperate House , which is twice as large as the Palm House, followed later in the 19th century. It is now the largest Victorian glasshouse in existence. Kew was the location of the successful effort in the 19th century to propagate rubber trees for cultivation outside South America. In February 1913,

992-453: Is listed Grade I on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens . Kew Gardens has its own police force, Kew Constabulary , which has been in operation since 1845. Kew consists mostly of the gardens themselves and a small surrounding community. Royal residences in the area which would later influence the layout and construction of the gardens began in 1299 when Edward I moved his court to

1054-612: Is now in hospital ... Surgical 7, 3rd Southern General Hospital , Oxford ... wounded in the knee whilst bandaging another soldier in the trenches ..." Cowley was lucky to be alive, if injured, after this action at Ypres. The fighting by his 1st Battalion, 12th London Regiment on the Frezenberg Ridge in the Second Battle Of Ypres "brought about the end of the original battalion", only 53 of his original battalion comrades survived unscathed. This battalion had also been involved in

1116-839: The Dolomites and a notable visit to Bulgaria as a guest of King Ferdinand, in the company of Kew contemporary C. F. Ball of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin , in Dublin. Ball was killed as a Private in the Royal Dublin Fusiliers on 13 September 1915 as part of the Gallipoli campaign. Ball's obituary in The Garden was written by his Kew contemporary and editor friend Cowley. Cowley left Kew around 1907 to join The Gardener magazine as

1178-599: The Nash Conservatory ) was designated Plant House No. 1 and the Water Lily House was Plant House No. 15. Napsbury Hospital Napsbury Hospital was a mental health facility near London Colney in Hertfordshire . It had two sister institutions, Harperbury Hospital and Shenley Hospital , within a few miles of its location. The hospital was designed by Rowland Plumbe in the country estate style and

1240-575: The Alpine House can only house around 200 at a time the ones on show are regularly rotated. Originally designed for Buckingham Palace , this was moved to Kew in 1836 by King William IV . The building was formerly known as the Aroid House No. 1 and was used to display species of Araceae , the building was listed Grade II* in 1950. With an abundance of natural light, the building is now used for various exhibitions, weddings, and private events. It

1302-616: The Army authorities in 1920 from his residence at Curley Croft, Lightwater, near Bagshot: "I have received so far no medals whatsover for services rendered at the Front in 1914/15. I was in the 12th London Regiment and went to Belgium with the 1st Battalion on Christmas Eve." Cowley would eventually be awarded the Pip, Squeak and Wilfred trio of medals for soldiers who served early in the First World War . He

SECTION 20

#1732901742820

1364-502: The British Alpine Society. Many of the famous postwar photographs of Miss Gertrude Jekyll and Jekyll's Munstead Wood are attributed to Cowley. Cowley had a long working relationship with Gertrude Jekyll , to whom she records her thanks in A Gardening Companion : "and lastly to her devoted friend and colleague, Mr. Herbert Cowley, editor of The Gardening Illustrated during the period of her contribution to it, for many of

1426-632: The Minka House and the Bamboo Garden. The crossing won a special award from the Royal Institute of British Architects in 2008. The Hive opened in 2016 and is a multi-sensory experience designed to highlight the extraordinary life of bees. It stands 17 metres (56 ft) tall and is set in a wildflower meadow. The Hive was designed by English artist Wolfgang Buttress . The Hive has been created using thousands of aluminium pieces that are presented in

1488-859: The North Sea from its base in Elgin in Scotland. Robert is listed on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) website as the "son of Herbert & Elsie Mabel Cowley of East Grinstead, Sussex". Robert Hurst Cowley has no known grave and is commemorated on panel 13 of the Runnymede Memorial to missing aircrew. Robert is also listed on the St. Thomas a Becket Church, Framfield , on the War Memorial as "of this parish". Kew Gardens Kew Gardens

1550-527: The Palm House and is the world's largest surviving Victorian glass structure. It contains plants and trees from all the temperate regions of the world, some of which are extremely rare. It was commissioned in 1859 and designed by architect Decimus Burton and iron founder Richard Turner . Covering 4880 square metres, it rises to a height of 19 metres (62 ft). Intended to accommodate Kew's expanding collection of hardy and temperate plants, it took 40 years to construct, during which time costs soared. The building

1612-544: The Palm House. In 1950 the railway was electrified. The tunnel is now used to carry piped hot water to the Palm House, from oil-fired boilers located near the original chimney, which is extant, and is Grade II listed . Kew's third major conservatory, the Princess of Wales Conservatory, designed by architect Gordon Wilson, was opened in 1987 by Diana, Princess of Wales in commemoration of her predecessor Augusta 's associations with Kew. It replaced 26 smaller buildings. In 1989

1674-657: The Tea House was burned down by suffragettes Olive Wharry and Lilian Lenton during a series of arson attacks in London. Kew Gardens lost hundreds of trees in the Great Storm of 1987 . From 1959 to 2007, Kew Gardens had the tallest flagpole in Britain. Made from a single Douglas-fir from Canada, it was given to mark both the centenary of the Canadian province of British Columbia and

1736-430: The apex of the roof arch extends to a height of 10 metres (33 ft) in order to allow the natural airflow of a building of this shape to aid in the all-important ventilation required for the type of plants to be housed. The new house features a set of automatically operated blinds that prevent it from overheating when the sun is too hot for the plants together with a system that blows a continuous stream of cool air over

1798-505: The appointment of the first collector, Francis Masson , in 1771. Capability Brown , who became England's most renowned landscape architect , applied for the position of master gardener at Kew, and was rejected. In 1840, the gardens were adopted as a national botanical garden , in large part due to the efforts of the Royal Horticultural Society and its president William Cavendish . Under Kew's director, William Hooker ,

1860-523: The bicentenary of Kew Gardens. The flagpole was removed after damage by weather and woodpeckers made it a danger. In July 2003, UNESCO put the gardens on its list of World Heritage Sites . A five-year, £41 million revamp of the Temperate House was completed in May 2018. Five trees survive from the establishment of the botanical gardens in 1762. Together they are known as the 'Five Lions' and consist of:

1922-402: The conservatory a distinctive appearance and helping to maximize the use of the sun's energy. During the construction of the conservatory a time capsule was buried. It contains the seeds of basic crops and endangered plant species and key publications on conservation. The Temperate House, re-opened in May 2018 after being closed for restoration, is a greenhouse that has twice the floor area of

Herbert Cowley - Misplaced Pages Continue

1984-465: The conservatory received the Europa Nostra award for conservation. The conservatory houses ten computer-controlled micro-climatic zones, with the bulk of the greenhouse volume composed of Dry Tropics and Wet Tropics plants. Significant numbers of orchids , water lilies , cacti , lithops , carnivorous plants and bromeliads are housed in the various zones. The cactus collection also extends outside

2046-409: The conservatory where some hardier species can be found. The conservatory has an area of 4,499 square metres (48,430 sq ft; 0.4499 ha; 1.112 acres). As it is designed to minimize the amount of energy taken to run it, the cooler zones are grouped around the outside and the more tropical zones are in the central area where heat is conserved. The glass roof extends down to the ground, giving

2108-418: The construction of the walkway is available online. The Lake Crossing bridge, made of granite and bronze, opened in May 2006. Designed by Buro Happold and John Pawson , it crosses the lake and was previously named in honor of Dr Mortimer and Theresa Sackler . The minimalist-styled bridge is designed as a sweeping double curve of black granite. The sides of the bridge are formed of bronze posts that give

2170-499: The famous nursery family of Veitch's at Feltham. Cowley joined the staff of Kew Gardens, eventually settling in the Orchid department in 1905. He was involved in Kew's Mutual Improvement Lectures in the 1906/07 season. Sadly, this pre-war lecture lists contain the names of some of other Kew staff including C. F. Ball , who would soon be killed on active service. His Kew Guild Journal obituary in 1968 mentions prewar plant hunting trips to

2232-451: The first German poison gas attack on 22 April 1915. His family were also affected by the war. Herbert's older brother Lance Corporal Henry William Cowley died while training on military service in the 26th Reserve Training Battalion died of a cerebral haemorrhage on 14 September 1917 at Napsbury Hospital , St Albans , leaving a wife and three children. His other brother Charles Cowley (b. 1890, Wantage, Berks - d. 1973, New Zealand) served in

2294-574: The gardens is available on the Kew Gardens website. Kew has one of the largest compost heaps in Europe, made from green and woody waste from the gardens and the manure from the stables of the Household Cavalry . The compost is mainly used in the gardens, but on occasion has been auctioned as part of a fundraising event for the gardens. The compost heap is in an area of the gardens not accessible to

2356-412: The gardens were increased to 30 hectares (75 acres) and the pleasure grounds , or arboretum , extended to 109 hectares (270 acres), and later to its present size of 121 hectares (300 acres). The first curator was John Smith . The Palm House was built by architect Decimus Burton and iron-maker Richard Turner between 1844 and 1848, and was the first large-scale structural use of wrought iron . It

2418-520: The house did not suit the Victoria , purportedly because of a poor ventilation system, and this specimen was moved to another, smaller, house ( Victoria amazonica House No. 10 ). The ironwork for the Waterlily House project was provided by Richard Turner and the initial construction was completed in 1852. The heat for the house was initially obtained by running a flue from the nearby Palm House but it

2480-448: The illustrations collection contains more than 175,000 prints and drawings of plants. It is one of London's top tourist attractions and is a World Heritage Site . Kew Gardens, together with the botanic gardens at Wakehurst in Sussex , are managed by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, an internationally important botanical research and education institution that employs over 1,100 staff and

2542-464: The impression, from certain angles, of forming a solid wall while, from others, and to those on the bridge, they are clearly individual entities that allow a view of the water beyond. The bridge forms part of a path designed to encourage visitors to visit more of the gardens than had hitherto been popular and connects the two art galleries, via the Temperate and Evolution Houses and the woodland glade, to

Herbert Cowley - Misplaced Pages Continue

2604-539: The late 1920s) for Wallace & Co of Tunbridge Wells , nursery-men and landscape architects. He wrote his final book The Garden Year at Tunbridge Wells in 1936. Herbert Cowley's army records reveal that he enlisted early in the war on 7 September 1914 as No. 2477 in the 12th County of London Regiment , known as the "London Rangers" or "Polytechnic Corps". He had quickly embarked for Belgium by 25 December 1914. In one of Herbert Cowley's postwar letters in his National Archives British Army Service records, he complains to

2666-476: The merging of the royal estates of Richmond and Kew in 1772. William Chambers built several garden structures, including the lofty Great Pagoda built in 1761 which still remains. George III enriched the gardens, aided by William Aiton and Sir Joseph Banks . The old Kew Park (by then renamed the White House), was demolished in 1802. The "Dutch House" adjoining was purchased by George III in 1781 as

2728-567: The photographs which materially enhance such value as this book may possess." According to an obituary article in the Western Guardian on 9 November 1967, Cowley left journalism c. 1936 to 1940 to move to Withypool on Exmoor to run a riding school for 20 years up to the late 1950s. Cowley and his wife made a final move to the Brixham area in the early 1960s, growing camellias, nerines and alpine plants. His Kew Guild Journal 1968 obituary notes that he

2790-405: The plants. The main design aim of the house is to allow maximum light transmission. To this end the glass is of a special low iron type that allows 90 per cent of the ultraviolet light in sunlight to pass. It is attached by high tension steel cables so that no light is obstructed by traditional glazing bars. To conserve energy the cooling air is not refrigerated but is cooled by being passed through

2852-524: The public, but a viewing platform, made of wood which had been illegally traded but seized by Customs officers in HMRC , has been erected to allow visitors to observe the heap as it goes through its cycle. Tours of the gardens are conducted daily by trained volunteers. In March 2006, the Davies Alpine House opened, the third version of an alpine house since 1887. Although only 16 metres (52 ft) long

2914-565: The same regiment as Cowley from 1915 and became a Sergeant, invalided out with trench foot to become a musketry instructor in Devon. His wife Elsie Mabel (née Hurst) lost her 30-year-old brother Rifleman 4278 Percy Haslewood (or Hazlewood) Hurst of the 1st /16th Battalion, London Regiment (Queen's Westminster Rifles), who was killed on 1 July 1916, the first day of Battle of the Somme, during his battalion's diversionary attack on Gommecourt. In late 1915 Cowley

2976-400: The shape of a honeycomb. It was initially installed as a temporary exhibition, but was given a permanent home at Kew Gardens due to its popularity. Kew Explorer is a service that takes a circular route around the gardens, provided by two 72-seater road trains that are fuelled by Calor Gas to minimize pollution. A commentary is provided by the driver and there are several stops. A map of

3038-473: The significant heating effect. The 19 metres (62 ft) high central nave is surrounded by a walkway at 9 metres (30 ft) height, allowing visitors a closer look upon the palm tree crowns. In front of the Palm House on the east side are the Queen's Beasts , ten statues of animals bearing shields. They are Portland stone replicas of originals done by James Woodford and were placed here in 1958. The Palm House

3100-505: Was a "domestic gardener" on Census records. Father Henry and mother Mary Ann Cowley are listed as living in Wantage , Berkshire, in the 1920s. Herbert worked at Lockinge Gardens in Berkshire before studying at Swanley College for two years, one of the last eight male students before it became a female horticultural college around 1902. He worked for the royal garden at Frogmore and after Swanley for

3162-492: Was also awarded the Silver War Badge by 1916, a useful public symbol that showed others he had been injured and demobilised. Cowley had got what was known as a "Blighty" wound, serious enough to get him invalided out of the army but one that allowed him to live an active life. "Our Sub-Editor at the Front", Cowley is recorded in the 1916 Kew Guild Journal as being "wounded twice" in the spring battles of Ypres in 1915. He

SECTION 50

#1732901742820

3224-414: Was closed for restoration 1980–82. The building was restored during 2014–15 by Donald Insall Associates , based on their conservation management plan. There is a viewing gallery in the central section from which visitors can look down on that part of the collection. The Waterlily House is the hottest and most humid of the houses at Kew and contains a large pond with varieties of water lily, surrounded by

3286-621: Was formerly known as the Alpine House No. 24 prior to the construction of the Davies Alpine House. Kew's bonsai collection has around sixty specimens, displayed seasonally in the House, including a 100 year-old Japanese maple and a 200 year-old temple maple . The following plant houses were in use in 1974. All have since been demolished, with many of the collections being moved into the Princess of Wales Conservatory. The extant Aroid House (now

3348-479: Was in existence by 1522 when a driveway was built to connect it to the palace at Richmond. Around 1600, the land that would become the gardens was known as Kew Field, a large field strip farmed by one of the new private estates. The exotic garden at Kew Park, formed by Henry Capell, 1st Baron Capell of Tewkesbury , was enlarged and extended by Augusta, Dowager Princess of Wales , the widow of Frederick, Prince of Wales . The origins of Kew Gardens can be traced to

3410-406: Was increasingly about the need for practical food production. Bad harvests and the increasing German submarine attacks on merchant shipping were causing shortages, price rises and uncertainty over future supply. Rationing was introduced in Britain in late 1917. Herbert Cowley continued to practical small pamphlets on Storing Vegetables and Fruit (1918), Cultivation with Movable Frames (1920) and

3472-570: Was initially known as the Middlesex County Asylum. The hospital was designed for 1,205 residents, and the grounds were designed by William Goldring . Following the construction of the numerous buildings and extensive grounds, Napsbury opened on 3 June 1905. According to the Middlesex County Record, the initial cost, including land and equipment, was £545,000, or £473 per bed. In 1908 Plumbe designed an extension to accommodate

3534-551: Was invalided out of the Army, recovering from wounds and married Elsie Mabel Hurst on 8 December 1915 in Kingston, Surrey. Cowley very quickly returned his gardening and writing work to produce many books of practical, no-nonsense advice for the gardening enthusiast, Vegetable Growing in Wartime 1917 , in his own way contributing to the war effort in the First World War's version of Dig for Victory . The tone of his editorials in The Garden

3596-829: Was later equipped with its own boiler. Formerly known as the Australian House . The house was a gift from the Australian Government. It was designed by S L Rothwell (Ministry of Works) with consultant engineer J E Temple and was constructed by the Crittall Manufacturing Company Ltd. It opened in 1952. From 1995 it was known as the Evolution House. The building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 for its special architectural or historic interest. The Bonsai House

3658-593: Was originally heated by two coal-fired boilers, with a 107 feet (33 m) chimney, the "Shaft of the Great Palm-Stove", now known as the Campanile, near the Victoria Gate. Coal was brought in by a light railway, running in a tunnel, using human-propelled wagons. The tunnel acted as a flue between the boilers and the chimney, but the distance proved too great for efficient working, and so two small chimneys were added to

3720-507: Was slightly wounded in late April 1915, reported in The Garden of 8 May 1915: "For the past eight days we have been in severe battle. I am slightly wounded by shell - only a bruised rib and am in hospital. Dreadful warfare is still raging ... we must win!" He was more seriously wounded on 4 May 1915, receiving a GSW Right Knee (either gunshot wound or shrapnel wound). The circumstances are reported in The Garden on 15 May 1915: "Rifleman H. Cowley 2477,... has again been wounded in action and

3782-517: Was survived by his wife Elsie (b. 1893? – d. 1969) and a son. Cowley's unexpected move to the West Country and retirement from journalism may be explained by the death of one of his children in September 1940 during World War II . One of his sons, RAF Sergeant Observer Robert Hurst Cowley, 580643, died aged 22 on 2 September 1940 flying with 57 Squadron on Blenheim bombers on anti-shipping patrols over

SECTION 60

#1732901742820

3844-423: Was the result of cooperation between architect Decimus Burton and iron founder Richard Turner , and continues upon the glass house design principles developed by John Claudius Loudon and Joseph Paxton . A space frame of wrought iron arches, held together by horizontal tubular structures containing long prestressed cables, supports glass panes which were originally tinted green with copper oxide to reduce

#819180