The Middy, December 9 1999

Reputation rooted in history

Wakehurst place – or "Kew in the country “ as it is often known, is firmly on the world map as the home of the unique Millennium Seed Bank.

But its frontier breaking modern reputation is firmly rooted in a distinguished botanical history which dates back to the turn of the century.

The name Wakehurst is of Saxon origin and records of the estate go back to the 13th century, with the present mansion built by Sir Edmund Culpepper in 1590. But the major turning point in the Estate’s life came in 1902 when it was bought by Gerald Loder, a passionate plantsman who set the pattern for the development of Wakehurst into one of the country's most beautiful gardens. It was Gerald Loder who began the outstanding collection of trees and shrubs which hallmarks the estate today.

He subscribed to many of the plant collecting expeditions that were bringing back new and exotic species, especially from the Eastern Asia. He also built up a superb collection of species from South America, Australia and New Zealand.

His pedigree for running the estate was immaculate – he was one of the accomplished Loder family of seven sons and two daughters, and two of his brothers also achieved fame with nearby country Estates: Wilfred Loder at the High Beeches and his eldest brother Sir Edmund Loder at Leonardslee. Sir Edmund was noted for his hybridisation of rhododendrons while Gerald preferred the species and avoided hybrids. His attitude was: “why must they interfere?”

At the time he bought Wakehurst he was MP for Brighton, but left Parliament in 1906 to devote himself to his horticultural and business interests. His interests – and official titles – were many, and ranged from chairmanship of the Southern Railway in 1932 to being president of the Royal Horticultural Society from 1929–31.

But Wakehurst was his passion, and he worked closely with the great head gardener Alfred Coates whose appointment has gone down in folk law. When he went to the House of Commons for an interview, Laura asked him: “well, what shall it be, flowers or trees and shrubs?” He is alleged to have replied: "I reckon trees and shrubs, sir "and on this answer the unique Wakehurst collection is founded.

Gerald's principal Focus was on the conifers, the rhododendrons and the plants of the southern hemisphere and Sophia, especially New Zealand – and everything at Wakehurst was subservient to the plants.

Evelyn Coates, Alfred's daughter, recalls how her father's whole household would turn out even at midnight on a suddenly frosty night to throw Matt over rare plants in the rock garden.

Gerald took immense personal care in the positioning of his plants: a garden boy would follow behind him and Alfred with a plant in a wheelbarrow, often for a couple of hours, as they walked down woodland hills looking for the ideal spot. His choices, which included distant woodland and even hedgerows, were made on the basis that "any plant worth seeing is worth walking to. "

Almost daily, plants would arrive both from nurseries from within England and from abroad – either a seed from the great world roving collectors or as crates of plants that had made a long sea journey. Nobody allowed to touch any parcel until Gerald Loder himself was there, and he would stamp up and down impatiently as they were unpacked.

Ardingly was his village and he took the title of Baron Wakehurst of Ardingly in 1934, contributing generously to the church, sports clubs and local charities. After a house he visited caught fire, he initiated the Wakehurst Fire Brigade with its horse-drawn Merriweather fire engine.

The brigade, resplendent in uniform and polished helmets, would hold monthly fire practices. The only fire at Wakehurst broke out one weekend when a wooden beam in the library chimney caught fire, and this portion of beam was later exhibited on the landing as a warning of the dangers of fire.

Wakehurst, with its farm, estate workers, gardens and specialist workmen, was self-contained domain with Gerald loader as its head. His death in 1936 signalled the end of an era – yet his memory remains in all he planted: the row of Cedars across the garden were raised from seized collected by his air Captain John loader during the great war. Each member of the family planted one.

Wakehurst was then bought by the Henry Price who, with Lady Price, developed the gardens further. Sir Henry also restored the roof and decaying stonework of the house, and the building still houses a display of antique furniture loaned by Lady Price.

Sir Henry made his fortune as head of a gentleman’s outfitters business known as "The 50 shilling Tailor“ – because a good, off-the-peg suit could be had for as little as 50 shillings.

His wealth was matched by his generosity and he was a well-known benefactor of the local community, giving donations to many clubs and societies. He built Priceholme, now sheltered accommodation in Ardingly, which he designed originally for retired partners and horticulturists.

During the war the couple moved out to Pearcelands on Ardingly Road while the mansion was used to billet British and Canadian troops. The house, with its secret wartime radio station, survived the war unscathed though was surrounded by Nissen hut. Onto Henry's death 1963, the estate was bequeathed to the National Trust.

But the next major turning point of the century came in 1965 when Wakehurst place was leased by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, from the National Trust.

Under Kew’s umbrella, the emphasis in recent years has been on arranging the plants geographically combining the scientific and educational functions of the collection with the beauty of the estate. One area, the Loder Valley, is set aside as a carefully managed nature reserve and provides a refuge for the flora and fauna of the Sussex Weald.

However the requirements of a public botanic garden differ considerably from those of a private estate, and early work involve the provision of a public entrance, car park and lavatories as well as a network of hard surface paths. Slowly the landscape has developed to produce a layout which radiates from the mansion to allow visitors to progress from one feature to the next along the concept of a walk through the temperate woodlands of the world.

The hurricane of 1987 and the 1990 storm proved devastating – the estate lost 15,000 trees. But the substantial losses allowed new and creative planting to start, and five years later in 1992 the estate celebrated the end of the work to clear up the damage. One of the visitors during those celebrations was eminent Russian botanist Armen Takhtajan, a champion of the idea of classifying the worlds vegetation into distinctive areas. Many of the Estates new plantings follow his ideas on plant geography.

The mansion now houses Kew staff studying plant physiology and managing the world seed bank which stores seeds under carefully controlled conditions as a global conservation resource.

Many of the seeds are predicted to survive for hundreds of years and will be vital for research, conservation and sustainable development.

And as the year closes, the world beating Millennium Seed Bank is due to open in the year 2000. When complete, it will hold seats from some 25,000 flowering plants, including all British species.

It is seen as a unique safeguard for future generations and has been championed by broadcasters Sir David Attenborough. He said: "the millennium seed bank will help save tens of thousands of threatened plant species from possible extinction. It is one of the most ambitious projects of its kind.”