Ralph Hancock
Encyclopedia
Ralph Hancock was a Welsh
landscape gardener and author. Hancock built gardens in the UK in the 1920s, 30s and 40s and in the United States in the 1930s. A few are well known - the roof gardens at Derry and Toms
in London and the Rockefeller Center
in New York, the garden at Twyn-yr-Hydd House in Margam
and the rock and water garden he built for Princess Victoria
at Coppins
, Iver
, England.
However, the majority of his gardens remain unknown and unrecognised.
, Wales
on 2 July 1893. His father Clarence Hancock worked for a company known as Evans and Hancock who were Auctioneers and Estate Agents based at Borough Chambers, Wharton Street, Cardiff. In 1917 Ralph married Hilda Muriel Ellis (known as Muriel) and moved to Augusta Road, Penarth
, Wales.
Their first son, Clarence Neville Bramley Hancock (Bramley), was born in 1918 followed by their second son Denys, also born in Penarth in 1920. At this time Ralph's occupation was a Marine and General Insurance Broker working from James Street, Cardiff. What prompted his career change is unknown, however in 1926 he became a Fellow of the Royal Horticultural Society
.
Ralph and his family moved to Downside Road, Sutton, Surrey, England and in 1928 a daughter, Sheila Muriel was born. It was from here in 1927 that Ralph undertook the first of his more famous garden projects, designing and constructing a rock and water garden and also an Iris garden for H.R.H Princess Victoria at her home 'Coppins' in Iver, Buckinghamshire. Ralph was reported to be extremely proud of the garden and HRH presented Ralph “a little diamond and sapphire tie pin” one of his most treasured possessions. The main influences of this period was William Robinson
and Gertrude Jekyll
and Ralph incorporated this "arts and crafts movement
" into his designs.
. He also staged exhibits at the Massachusetts Horticulture Show where he won several awards, including in 1933 the Presidents Cup. He was also one of the designers of the Lydia Duff Gray Hubbard garden in New Jersey which now forms part of the Garden Club of America Collection. But it was between 1933 and 1935 that Ralph was to embark on one of his most ambitious projects, the construction of spectacular gardens at the Rockefeller Center
in New York
.
Hancock's “Gardens of the Nations” emulated the cultural styles of gardens from Holland, France, Spain, Italy, Japan and England, where each garden had its very own hostess dressed in themed costume. 3,000 tons of earth, 500 tons of bricks, 20,000 bulbs, 100 tons of natural stone, 2,000 trees and shrubs were delivered by the service elevator or man hauled using a block and tackle up the side of the eleven floors of the building. The garden also required 96,000 gallons of water which was lifted by an electric pump.
Hancock was confident that what he had created would allow numerous opportunities for other similar gardens in the US. He declared that “the day of penthouse gardening are over and miles and miles of roof space in every metropolis in this country remain to be reclaimed by landscape gardening”. Throughout the project Ralph was in regular correspondence with both John D Rockefeller and Nelson Rockefeller
.
As well as designing and building the gardens Hancock also ran the “Sky Garden Tour”. Visitors were charged a dollar a time. The enterprise did not prove to be profitable and lost approximately $45,000 per year. By 1938 the attraction had closed.
Much of the gardens no longer exist in their original form, these two images show the same scene 70 years apart.
, London
. Bowen liked what he saw and employed Hancock to create a similar effect in the heart of London.
This time Hancock was to build three gardens, each with its own unique style and planting. The gardens were; a Tudor
garden with herringbone brickwork, impressive Tudor arches and wrought iron. The Spanish garden complete with palm trees and fountains as well as Moorish colonnades. And a woodland garden, built with a cascade, a river and it's very own pink flamingoes.
Once again the logistics involved in the construction were impressive. Before planting and building could start a thick bitumastic base was laid on the roof, followed by a layer of loose brick and rubble that was arranged in a fan-like pattern to aid drainage. On top of this was a 36 inch layer of topsoil into which the planting was made. Water came from Derry and Toms own artesian wells. On opening day the gardens contained over 500 different varieties of trees and shrubs.
The gardens were completed in 1938 at a cost of £25,000 and were officially opened by the Earl of Athlone
in May of that year. Visitors were charged a shilling
(5p) to tour the gardens and over the next 30 years over £120,000 was raised for local hospitals.
Today, the three gardens look virtually as they did in the late 1930s. Many of the original trees, now covered by preservation orders, remain.
, as well as owning a country house at Horne, Lingfield, Surrey
. Ralph had purchased the derelict 16th century farmhouse in a dilapidated state and set about restoring the property to its former glory. He also designed and built one of his trademark gardens using many of the features that have become familiar, such as a herringbone brickwork path.
Ralph and his young family took to the country life. Ralph decided to keep pigs and, although he employed someone to look after them, he even purchased a pig keeper's white coat, much to the amusement of the family. The family house at Horne was sold by Ralph in 1941.
Ralph continued to be a very successful exhibitor at the Chelsea Flower Show
, winning gold medals in 1936, ’37 and ’38. The gardens constructed at Chelsea had moved away from the naturalistic rock garden style towards the arts and crafts style that is now more associated with his later work. One of Ralph's specialities became the use of Moon Gates, which he used both at Chelsea and a number of other garden projects. His 1938 Chelsea garden was particularly popular. A review in Amateur Gardening said, “Mr Ralph Hancock had one of the most ambitious schemes in the garden avenue; a model of an old mill cottage, complete with millstream and sunken garden, the whole construction being carried out in a most realistic manner. It was a centre of attraction throughout the show.”
As well as designing gardens, Hancock also wrote a book titled When I Make a Garden, which was reprinted in 1950 and updated to include images of the Derry and Toms roof gardens as well as later work. He also exhibited gardens at the Ideal Home Exhibition in 1936, ’37 and ’38. Each of the Ideal Homes gardens was required to conform to a theme. In 1936 the theme was Gardens and Music. The garden was to feature 1,200 plants that were brought over from the USA. The 1937 theme was Gardens of the Lovers for which Ralph took as his inspiration Kenilworth Castle
in Warwickshire.
The theme for the 1938 show was Novelist and their Gardens for which the designers had to take as inspiration their favourite living author. Ralph chose as his inspiration Rafael Sabatini
. Sabatini was famous for his tales of high adventure such as Scaramouche, Captain Blood
and The Sea Hawk
, all of which became successful motion pictures. Captain Blood was produced in 1935 and gave a young Errol Flynn
his first ever Hollywood starring role.
The show catalogue for that year hints at some form of collaboration between the author and the architect. Although of Italian birth Sabatini was living in Hereford. Ralph's garden tribute to Sabatini featured a half-timbered cottage and also his trademark herringbone brickwork. The planting consisted of rhododendrons, heathers and aquatic plants near a winding brook. In 1939 Ralph won a silver cup at Chelsea for a Formal Mediterranean Garden.
Gardens and beautiful landscapes were put on hold with the advent of World War II
. Ralph, Denys and Bramley all joined the military, even Muriel drove ambulances.
Ralph, who had previously served in the Great War, was re-activated. Second Lieutenant Denys Hancock, who was to tragically lose his life in November 1941 at the battle of Sidi Rezegh http://www.btinternet.com/~ian.a.paterson/battles1941.htm#SidiRezegh, North Africa joined the Royal Tank Regiment and Captain Bramley Hancock served as an Artillery FOO (Forward Observation Officer). Sheila, who was only 11 when war was declared, was sent to neutral America to stay with friends.
Back home in England, Derry and Toms was damaged during an enemy air-raid. However, after the war ended it was rebuilt. Although the garden was restored to its pre-war splendour neither Ralph nor Muriel fully recovered after the death of their youngest son, Denys.
, England as well as many other projects. Nineteen forty-seven saw the Chelsea Flower Show restart. Hancock returned with a rock garden
and a formal garden, he also had an exhibit in the garden designers section.
It was at one of these post-war Chelsea shows that Sir David Evans Bevans commissioned Ralph and Bramley to build the gardens at Twyn-yr-Hydd.
Ralph had also purchased a little cottage at Chailey Green, near Lewes
, Sussex
. He had planned to restore the cottage and had drawn-up plans to do so. Ralph died before work started and it was left to Bramley to complete the restoration.
The gardens at Twyn-yr-Hydd are probably the last gardens that Ralph designed and completed before his death. Ralph died in 1950.
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
landscape gardener and author. Hancock built gardens in the UK in the 1920s, 30s and 40s and in the United States in the 1930s. A few are well known - the roof gardens at Derry and Toms
Kensington Roof Gardens
The Roof Gardens is a roof garden covering 6,000 m² on top of the former Derry and Toms building on Kensington High Street, in central London, in The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea...
in London and the Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commercial buildings covering between 48th and 51st streets in New York City, United States. Built by the Rockefeller family, it is located in the center of Midtown Manhattan, spanning the area between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue. It was declared a National...
in New York, the garden at Twyn-yr-Hydd House in Margam
Margam
Margam is a suburb of Port Talbot in the Welsh county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, close to junction 39 of the M4 motorway.- History :...
and the rock and water garden he built for Princess Victoria
Princess Victoria Alexandra of the United Kingdom
-Titles and styles:*6 July 1868 – 22 January 1901: Her Royal Highness Princess Victoria of Wales*22 January 1901 – 3 December 1935: Her Royal Highness The Princess Victoria-Honours:*Imperial Order of the Crown of India, 6 August 1887...
at Coppins
Coppins
Coppins is a country house north of the village of Iver in Buckinghamshire, England, formerly a home of members of the British Royal Family, including Princess Victoria, Prince George, 1st Duke of Kent, Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent and Prince Edward, 2nd Duke of Kent .-History:The house was...
, Iver
Iver
Iver is in the south-east corner of the English county of Buckinghamshire and it forms one of the largest civil parishes in the South Bucks district.Iver railway station is in Richings Park.-Etymology:...
, England.
However, the majority of his gardens remain unknown and unrecognised.
A brief history
Clarence Henry Ralph Hancock was born at 20 Keppoch Street, CardiffCardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
on 2 July 1893. His father Clarence Hancock worked for a company known as Evans and Hancock who were Auctioneers and Estate Agents based at Borough Chambers, Wharton Street, Cardiff. In 1917 Ralph married Hilda Muriel Ellis (known as Muriel) and moved to Augusta Road, Penarth
Penarth
Penarth is a town and seaside resort in the Vale of Glamorgan , Wales, 5.2 miles south west from the city centre of the Welsh capital city of Cardiff and lying on the north shore of the Severn Estuary at the southern end of Cardiff Bay...
, Wales.
Their first son, Clarence Neville Bramley Hancock (Bramley), was born in 1918 followed by their second son Denys, also born in Penarth in 1920. At this time Ralph's occupation was a Marine and General Insurance Broker working from James Street, Cardiff. What prompted his career change is unknown, however in 1926 he became a Fellow of the Royal Horticultural Society
Royal Horticultural Society
The Royal Horticultural Society was founded in 1804 in London, England as the Horticultural Society of London, and gained its present name in a Royal Charter granted in 1861 by Prince Albert...
.
Ralph and his family moved to Downside Road, Sutton, Surrey, England and in 1928 a daughter, Sheila Muriel was born. It was from here in 1927 that Ralph undertook the first of his more famous garden projects, designing and constructing a rock and water garden and also an Iris garden for H.R.H Princess Victoria at her home 'Coppins' in Iver, Buckinghamshire. Ralph was reported to be extremely proud of the garden and HRH presented Ralph “a little diamond and sapphire tie pin” one of his most treasured possessions. The main influences of this period was William Robinson
William Robinson (gardener)
William Robinson was an Irish practical gardener and journalist whose ideas about wild gardening spurred the movement that evolved into the English cottage garden, a parallel to the search for honest simplicity and vernacular style of the British Arts and Crafts movement...
and Gertrude Jekyll
Gertrude Jekyll
Gertrude Jekyll was an influential British garden designer, writer, and artist. She created over 400 gardens in the UK, Europe and the USA and contributed over 1,000 articles to Country Life, The Garden and other magazines.-Early life:...
and Ralph incorporated this "arts and crafts movement
Arts and Crafts movement
Arts and Crafts was an international design philosophy that originated in England and flourished between 1860 and 1910 , continuing its influence until the 1930s...
" into his designs.
America and 'The Rock'
On May 31, 1930, Hancock set sail for New York. In order to promote his work in the US, he published an illustrated booklet titled English Gardens in America in which he described himself as being 'Landscape Gardener to HRH the Princess Victoria of England'. The promotional booklet must have worked as Hancock went on to design an exhibition garden at Erie Station in New JerseyNew Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. He also staged exhibits at the Massachusetts Horticulture Show where he won several awards, including in 1933 the Presidents Cup. He was also one of the designers of the Lydia Duff Gray Hubbard garden in New Jersey which now forms part of the Garden Club of America Collection. But it was between 1933 and 1935 that Ralph was to embark on one of his most ambitious projects, the construction of spectacular gardens at the Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commercial buildings covering between 48th and 51st streets in New York City, United States. Built by the Rockefeller family, it is located in the center of Midtown Manhattan, spanning the area between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue. It was declared a National...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
Hancock's “Gardens of the Nations” emulated the cultural styles of gardens from Holland, France, Spain, Italy, Japan and England, where each garden had its very own hostess dressed in themed costume. 3,000 tons of earth, 500 tons of bricks, 20,000 bulbs, 100 tons of natural stone, 2,000 trees and shrubs were delivered by the service elevator or man hauled using a block and tackle up the side of the eleven floors of the building. The garden also required 96,000 gallons of water which was lifted by an electric pump.
Hancock was confident that what he had created would allow numerous opportunities for other similar gardens in the US. He declared that “the day of penthouse gardening are over and miles and miles of roof space in every metropolis in this country remain to be reclaimed by landscape gardening”. Throughout the project Ralph was in regular correspondence with both John D Rockefeller and Nelson Rockefeller
Nelson Rockefeller
Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller was the 41st Vice President of the United States , serving under President Gerald Ford, and the 49th Governor of New York , as well as serving the Roosevelt, Truman and Eisenhower administrations in a variety of positions...
.
As well as designing and building the gardens Hancock also ran the “Sky Garden Tour”. Visitors were charged a dollar a time. The enterprise did not prove to be profitable and lost approximately $45,000 per year. By 1938 the attraction had closed.
Much of the gardens no longer exist in their original form, these two images show the same scene 70 years apart.
The roof gardens at Derry and Toms
The gardens at the Rockefeller were visited by Trevor Bowen, the managing director of Barkers who had taken over Derry and Toms, a department store in KensingtonKensington
Kensington is a district of west and central London, England within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. An affluent and densely-populated area, its commercial heart is Kensington High Street, and it contains the well-known museum district of South Kensington.To the north, Kensington is...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Bowen liked what he saw and employed Hancock to create a similar effect in the heart of London.
This time Hancock was to build three gardens, each with its own unique style and planting. The gardens were; a Tudor
Tudor style architecture
The Tudor architectural style is the final development of medieval architecture during the Tudor period and even beyond, for conservative college patrons...
garden with herringbone brickwork, impressive Tudor arches and wrought iron. The Spanish garden complete with palm trees and fountains as well as Moorish colonnades. And a woodland garden, built with a cascade, a river and it's very own pink flamingoes.
Once again the logistics involved in the construction were impressive. Before planting and building could start a thick bitumastic base was laid on the roof, followed by a layer of loose brick and rubble that was arranged in a fan-like pattern to aid drainage. On top of this was a 36 inch layer of topsoil into which the planting was made. Water came from Derry and Toms own artesian wells. On opening day the gardens contained over 500 different varieties of trees and shrubs.
The gardens were completed in 1938 at a cost of £25,000 and were officially opened by the Earl of Athlone
Earl of Athlone
The title of Earl of Athlone has been created three times. It was created first in the Peerage of Ireland in 1692 by King William III for the Dutch General Baron Godard van Reede, Lord of Ginkel, to honour him for his successful battles in Ireland. The title also had the subsidiary title of Baron...
in May of that year. Visitors were charged a shilling
Shilling
The shilling is a unit of currency used in some current and former British Commonwealth countries. The word shilling comes from scilling, an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent or a sheep elsewhere. The word is thought to derive...
(5p) to tour the gardens and over the next 30 years over £120,000 was raised for local hospitals.
Today, the three gardens look virtually as they did in the late 1930s. Many of the original trees, now covered by preservation orders, remain.
Family, the Chelsea Flower Show and World War II
By 1936 the Hancock family were living at 110 Sloane Street in London's fashionable KensingtonKensington
Kensington is a district of west and central London, England within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. An affluent and densely-populated area, its commercial heart is Kensington High Street, and it contains the well-known museum district of South Kensington.To the north, Kensington is...
, as well as owning a country house at Horne, Lingfield, Surrey
Lingfield, Surrey
Lingfield is a village and civil parish in the Tandridge district of Surrey, England. It is most famous for its horse racing course, Lingfield Park. Lingfield lies to the east of a section of the A22 which runs between Godstone and East Grinstead...
. Ralph had purchased the derelict 16th century farmhouse in a dilapidated state and set about restoring the property to its former glory. He also designed and built one of his trademark gardens using many of the features that have become familiar, such as a herringbone brickwork path.
Ralph and his young family took to the country life. Ralph decided to keep pigs and, although he employed someone to look after them, he even purchased a pig keeper's white coat, much to the amusement of the family. The family house at Horne was sold by Ralph in 1941.
Ralph continued to be a very successful exhibitor at the Chelsea Flower Show
Chelsea Flower Show
The RHS Chelsea Flower Show, formally known as the Great Spring Show, is a garden show held for five days in May by the Royal Horticultural Society in the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea in Chelsea, London...
, winning gold medals in 1936, ’37 and ’38. The gardens constructed at Chelsea had moved away from the naturalistic rock garden style towards the arts and crafts style that is now more associated with his later work. One of Ralph's specialities became the use of Moon Gates, which he used both at Chelsea and a number of other garden projects. His 1938 Chelsea garden was particularly popular. A review in Amateur Gardening said, “Mr Ralph Hancock had one of the most ambitious schemes in the garden avenue; a model of an old mill cottage, complete with millstream and sunken garden, the whole construction being carried out in a most realistic manner. It was a centre of attraction throughout the show.”
As well as designing gardens, Hancock also wrote a book titled When I Make a Garden, which was reprinted in 1950 and updated to include images of the Derry and Toms roof gardens as well as later work. He also exhibited gardens at the Ideal Home Exhibition in 1936, ’37 and ’38. Each of the Ideal Homes gardens was required to conform to a theme. In 1936 the theme was Gardens and Music. The garden was to feature 1,200 plants that were brought over from the USA. The 1937 theme was Gardens of the Lovers for which Ralph took as his inspiration Kenilworth Castle
Kenilworth Castle
Kenilworth Castle is located in the town of the same name in Warwickshire, England. Constructed from Norman through to Tudor times, the castle has been described by architectural historian Anthony Emery as "the finest surviving example of a semi-royal palace of the later middle ages, significant...
in Warwickshire.
The theme for the 1938 show was Novelist and their Gardens for which the designers had to take as inspiration their favourite living author. Ralph chose as his inspiration Rafael Sabatini
Rafael Sabatini
Rafael Sabatini was an Italian/British writer of novels of romance and adventure.-Life:Rafael Sabatini was born in Iesi, Italy, to an English mother and Italian father...
. Sabatini was famous for his tales of high adventure such as Scaramouche, Captain Blood
Captain Blood (novel)
Captain Blood: His Odyssey is an adventure novel by Rafael Sabatini, originally published in 1922.- Synopsis :The protagonist is the sharp-witted Dr...
and The Sea Hawk
The Sea Hawk
The Sea Hawk is a novel by Rafael Sabatini, originally published in 1915. The story is set over the years 1588–1593, and concerns a retired Cornish sea-faring gentleman, Sir Oliver Tressilian, who is villainously betrayed by a jealous half-brother. After being forced to serve as a slave on a ...
, all of which became successful motion pictures. Captain Blood was produced in 1935 and gave a young Errol Flynn
Errol Flynn
Errol Leslie Flynn was an Australian-born actor. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles in Hollywood films, being a legend and his flamboyant lifestyle.-Early life:...
his first ever Hollywood starring role.
The show catalogue for that year hints at some form of collaboration between the author and the architect. Although of Italian birth Sabatini was living in Hereford. Ralph's garden tribute to Sabatini featured a half-timbered cottage and also his trademark herringbone brickwork. The planting consisted of rhododendrons, heathers and aquatic plants near a winding brook. In 1939 Ralph won a silver cup at Chelsea for a Formal Mediterranean Garden.
Gardens and beautiful landscapes were put on hold with the advent of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Ralph, Denys and Bramley all joined the military, even Muriel drove ambulances.
Ralph, who had previously served in the Great War, was re-activated. Second Lieutenant Denys Hancock, who was to tragically lose his life in November 1941 at the battle of Sidi Rezegh http://www.btinternet.com/~ian.a.paterson/battles1941.htm#SidiRezegh, North Africa joined the Royal Tank Regiment and Captain Bramley Hancock served as an Artillery FOO (Forward Observation Officer). Sheila, who was only 11 when war was declared, was sent to neutral America to stay with friends.
Back home in England, Derry and Toms was damaged during an enemy air-raid. However, after the war ended it was rebuilt. Although the garden was restored to its pre-war splendour neither Ralph nor Muriel fully recovered after the death of their youngest son, Denys.
The latter years
After World War II, Ralph began to work with his son Bramley. Together they constructed the Gardens of Peace at Temple Newsam, LeedsLeeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, England as well as many other projects. Nineteen forty-seven saw the Chelsea Flower Show restart. Hancock returned with a rock garden
Rock Garden
The Rock Garden or Rock Garden of Chandigarh is a Sculpture garden in Chandigarh, India, also known as Nek Chand's Rock Garden after its founder Nek Chand, a government official who started the garden secretly in his spare time in 1957. Today it is spread over an area of forty-acres , it is...
and a formal garden, he also had an exhibit in the garden designers section.
It was at one of these post-war Chelsea shows that Sir David Evans Bevans commissioned Ralph and Bramley to build the gardens at Twyn-yr-Hydd.
Ralph had also purchased a little cottage at Chailey Green, near Lewes
Lewes
Lewes is the county town of East Sussex, England and historically of all of Sussex. It is a civil parish and is the centre of the Lewes local government district. The settlement has a history as a bridging point and as a market town, and today as a communications hub and tourist-oriented town...
, Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
. He had planned to restore the cottage and had drawn-up plans to do so. Ralph died before work started and it was left to Bramley to complete the restoration.
The gardens at Twyn-yr-Hydd are probably the last gardens that Ralph designed and completed before his death. Ralph died in 1950.
Books by this author
- When I Make a Garden, 1935, Reprinted 1950.
See also
- Kensington Roof GardensKensington Roof GardensThe Roof Gardens is a roof garden covering 6,000 m² on top of the former Derry and Toms building on Kensington High Street, in central London, in The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea...
- Princess VictoriaPrincess Victoria Alexandra of the United Kingdom-Titles and styles:*6 July 1868 – 22 January 1901: Her Royal Highness Princess Victoria of Wales*22 January 1901 – 3 December 1935: Her Royal Highness The Princess Victoria-Honours:*Imperial Order of the Crown of India, 6 August 1887...
- Green roofGreen roofA green roof is a roof of a building that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and a growing medium, planted over a waterproofing membrane. It may also include additional layers such as a root barrier and drainage and irrigation systems...
- Roof gardenRoof gardenA roof garden is any garden on the roof of a building. Besides the decorative benefit, roof plantings may provide food, temperature control, hydrological benefits, architectural enhancement, habitats or corridors for wildlife, and recreational opportunities....
- Gertrude JekyllGertrude JekyllGertrude Jekyll was an influential British garden designer, writer, and artist. She created over 400 gardens in the UK, Europe and the USA and contributed over 1,000 articles to Country Life, The Garden and other magazines.-Early life:...
- William RobinsonWilliam Robinson (gardener)William Robinson was an Irish practical gardener and journalist whose ideas about wild gardening spurred the movement that evolved into the English cottage garden, a parallel to the search for honest simplicity and vernacular style of the British Arts and Crafts movement...
- Chelsea Flower ShowChelsea Flower ShowThe RHS Chelsea Flower Show, formally known as the Great Spring Show, is a garden show held for five days in May by the Royal Horticultural Society in the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea in Chelsea, London...