July  3,  1898 
JOURNAL  OB'  IIORTIGULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
5 
memorable  than  it  is  now  had  Mr.  B.  Robertson’s  scheme  been 
carried  oat.  Anxious  to  increase  the  knowledge  of  botany  and 
horticulture  he  secured  some  land  and  began  to  form  a  botanic 
garden  in  this  suburb,  sparing  no  expense,  which  he  meant  to 
dedicate  free  of  cost  to  the  public.  At  his  death,  in  1800,  the 
whole  of  his  property  was  devoted  to  the  future  maintenance  of 
this  garden,  but,  unfortunately,  a  court  of  law  found  reasons  for 
setting  the  will  aside.  North-west  of  Stockwel!  Common,  in  the 
reign  of  George  III.,  was  the  mansion  and  grounds  of  the  eccentric 
John  Angell,  now  covered  by  the  streets  of  what  is  called  j^ngell 
Town. 
There  do  not  appear  to  have  been,  either  at  Stockwell  or 
Clapham,  any  of  the  older  suburban  nurseries,  nor  was  much  land 
appropriated  to  market  gardening.  Holland  Nursery  was  started 
about  1820  in  Holland  Street,  being  many  years  occupied  by  Fowle. 
The  Clapham  Road  Nursery,  near  the  Swan,  had  Attlee  as  its  first 
proprietor,  and  dates  from  nearly  the  same  period.  This  place  was 
famous  for  Azaleas,  Camellias,  Pelargoniums,  and  various  soft- 
wooded  flowering  plants.  Then  the  Rose  Nursery  at  Clapham, 
which  had  Fairbairn  as  its  founder,  was,  we  presume,  celebrated 
for  that  favourite  flower,  and  the  Royal  Claremont  Nursery  has 
had  its  repute.  But  it  was  rather  from  private  residents  than 
from  traders  that  horticulture  received  an  impetus  at  Clapham. 
There  was  Mr.  Thornton,  a  lover  of  flowers,  and  an  opulent  London 
merchant  in  the  reign  of  George  III.,  whose  garden  was  a  sight  to 
see,  and  that  also  belonging  to  Mr.  Hibbert,  who  had  a  large 
collection  of  Heaths,  Banksias,  and  various  Cape  or  Australian 
species. 
Then  Mr.  Webb,  gold-lace  dealer  of  Old  Bond  Street,  once  had 
extensive  grounds  and  numerous  hothouses  lying  between  Clapham 
and  Wandsworth  Commons.  We  have  often  to  find  fault  with  the 
modern  suburban  builder  as  a  destroyer  of  beautiful  scenery  that 
we  may  give  Mr.  Thos.  Cubitt  credit  for  the  improvement  he 
carried  out  when  he  transformed  Bleak  Hill  Farm  into  Clapham 
Park.  It  looked  unpromising  enough  when  he  took  a  lease  of  it  in 
1824,  but  by  the  judicious  formation  of  roads,  and  by  planting 
rows  of  trees  and  shrubberies  he  changed  the  aspect  of  the 
place.  But  other  builders  have  shown  no  mercy  to  the  detached 
residences,  shaded  by  grand  old  trees,  which  had  goodly  gardens, 
rich  in  flowers,  on  the  ground  about  Lavender  Hill  and  Battersea 
Rise. 
Brixton  was  at  first  named  Briciston — that  is,  Brice’s  Stone,, 
from  an  ancient  landmark  belonging  to  a  Saxon  chieftain.  Till  a 
recent  date  the  land  hereabout  was  arable  and  pasture,  or  else 
wooded,  but  there  was  a  mansion  with  gardens  and  orchards  on  the 
Loughborough  Estate,  which  was  purchased  by  Lord  Holland  in 
1740,  with  234  acres  of  land.  Subsequently  great  part  of  this  land 
was  taken  by  two  market  gardeners.  Denyer,  who  had  been  with 
Michelson  in  Kennington  Oval,  opened  a  nursery  at  Cromwell 
House,  Loughborough  Road,  which  Randel  carried  on  for  many 
years.  His  extensive  grounds  underwent  the  process  of  gradual 
diminution,  till  but  a  fragment  remains  near  Sussex  Road.  Con¬ 
tiguous  to  this  was  the  Swiss  Nursery,  one  of  several  thus  named 
at  a  time  when  alpine  plants  were  the  rage ;  this  passed  finally  in 
the  hands  of  Mr.  Abraham.  About  1843  Mr.  Samuel  Ponsford 
opened  a  nursery  at  Loughborough  Park,  which  has  retained  a  high 
repute  amongst  suburban  establishment*.  Its  extent  was  about 
4  acres,  much  of  the  cultivation  being  done  under  glass,  and  the 
firm  has  always  had  a  steady  demand  for  Mulberries,  a  tree  long 
associated  with  Lambeth  and  adjacent  districts  of  Surrey.  Some 
remnant  of  nursery  ground  has  yet  escaped  the  builder  in  Acre 
Lane. 
When  Lysons  wrote  about  Surrey  a  century  ago  he  noted  that 
over  200  acres  of  land  at  Camberwell  belonged  to  market  gardeners, 
but  there  was  hardly  a  nurservman  there  till  the  Victorian  period. 
We  read,  however,  that  in  J uly,  1835,  people  from  all  parts  of 
London  went  to  Boyes  Lane  to  see  a  magnificent  Yucca  gloriosa, 
said  to  have  been  dormant  sixty  years,  and  wh’cb  reached  the 
height  of  25  feet,  displaying  upwards  of  1700  flowers.  To  Grove 
Hill,  also,  visitors  were  led  by  the  fame  of  Dr.  J.  L.  Lettsom,  who 
published  a  short  description  in  1804  of  his  gardens  and  houses 
there,  which  contained  numerous  choice  exotics.  Orchards  are  said 
to  have  existed  near  Camberwell  Green,  and  the  re*idence  of  the 
Bowyers,  lords  of  the  principal  manor  of  the  suburb,  from  whom 
Edmunds  of  New  Cross,  a  large  market  gardener,  purchased  a  good 
deal  of  Camberwell  land.  Apparently,  Buchanan  was  one  of  the 
earliest  nurserymen,  and  a  great  grower  of  fruit  or  ornamental 
trees,  having  an  extensive  arboretum  ;  afterwards  Oldroyd  and 
Marsden  were  added  to  the  firm.  Its  descendant  is  the  Clarendon 
■-  Nursery,  in  the  hands  of  Mr,  Fryer.  Amongst  the  notable  gardeners 
of  the  past  we  remember  Martin,  Goshawk,  and  Myatt ;  the  latter 
has  given  name  to  a  recreation  ground,  his  fields  being  saved  from 
the  builder  to  the  extent  of  13  acre*,  and  secured  for  the  public 
benefit, — J.  R.  S.  C. 
GERBER  A  JAMESONI. 
The  above  is  the  name  of  the  plant  of  which  “  F,  R.”  sends  na  a 
flower,  which  is  a  little  known  member  of  the  family  Compositse.  The 
flower  heads  are  extremely  bright  orange  scarlet,  and  have  long  narrow 
equally  spreading  florets,  which  give  a  distinct  appearance  to  the  plant, 
FIG.  1.— GEKBEKA  JAMESONI, 
as  the  heads  are  borne  on  long  slender  stems,  and  have  an  erect  pose 
that  enables  them  to  be  seen  to  the  best  advantage.  The  leaves 
are  clastered  close  to  the  base  of  the  plant,  irregularly  undalated,  and 
of  a  peculiar  metallic  green  hue.  It  appears  to  succeed  in  ordinary 
moderately  light  soil,  and  thrives  in  a  cool  house,  but  it  has  also  been 
recommended  for  a  warm  position  on  a  rockery  where  it  can  be  protected 
from  frost.  This  Gerbera  (fig,  1)  is  a  native  of  the  Transvaal,  whence 
it  was  introduced  a  few  years  ago. 
