England Agricultural Occupations, Land and Machinery, Gardeners, Nurserymen - International Institute

Land and Machinery
Land reclamation for agriculture in the 2,000 square miles of fens in the eastern counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire and Lincolnshire was started by the Dutch engineer Vermuyden in the 17th century (Bailey 1982)

Four Shire books are useful adjuncts regarding the use of machinery on farms: D. J. Smith on horse-drawn farm machinery, Harold Bonnett on farming with steam, Charles L. Cawood on vintage tractors, and Martin Watts on water and wind power.

Gardeners and Nurserymen
The gardener is employed to cultivate and manage vegetables, flowers, ornamental and fruit trees and other plants. Hurley (The Book of Trades or Library of the Useful Arts. Vol I. Wiltshire Family History Society, 1991) explains the functions of private flower, fruit and kitchen gardens, and of market gardens around cities supplying the needs for garden vegetables as well as flowers and soft fruit.

Background information on gardening topics can be found in Michael Symes (garden history), Kay Sanecki (old garden tools), Susan Campbell (walled kitchen gardens), Michael Gibson (English Rose Gardens), Hazel Conway (public parks), Mavis Batey (Regency gardens), and John Anthony (period gardens). Shire books on influential English gardeners include Sanecki on Humphrey Repton, Massingham on Gertrude Jekyll and Clifford on Capability Brown.

The apprenticeships for the Gardeners’ Company 1764-1850 have been indexed by Webb (London Apprentices Volume 6. Broderers’ Company 1679-1713, 1763-1800; Combmakers’ Company 1744-50; Fanmakers Company 1775-1805; Frameworkknitters’ Company 1727-30; Fruiterers’ Company 1750-1815; Gardeners’ Company 1764-1850; Horners’ Company 1731-1800. Society of Genealogists, 1997). The London Metropolitan Archives information leaflet 11 summarizes the surprising variety of their records relating gardening and horticulture in the Greater London area.

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