{"id":26896,"date":"2025-01-28T14:09:15","date_gmt":"2025-01-28T19:09:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=26896"},"modified":"2026-04-03T01:34:54","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T05:34:54","slug":"episode-2229-edward-freeman-bothys-and-how-to-become-a-head-gardener-in-1900","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=26896","title":{"rendered":"episode 2,229; EDWARD FREEMAN – BOTHYS and HOW TO BECOME A HEAD GARDENER in 1900"},"content":{"rendered":"
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episode 2,229;   EDWARD FREEMAN – BOTHYS and  HOW TO BECOME A HEAD GARDENER in 1900<\/div>\n

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alan skeoch<\/div>\n
January 28, 2025<\/div>\n

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Under gardeners once lived here (see below)<\/div>\n

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GARDENERS BOTHYS and HOW TO BECOME A HEAD GARDINER<\/div>\n

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The bothy was barely  visible.   Looked like a hole in the north side of Eywood Gardens. (above)<\/div>\n
Nondescript. Three heifers were wedging their bodies in and out of the hole while a<\/div>\n
gardener was forking hay.  This had been an active bothy when Edward Freeman<\/div>\n
was head gardener at <\/div>\n
Eywood.  Was the bothy also A source of income. ? Young gardeners were sometimes<\/div>\n
exceed to pay for the privilege of being an under gardener. They lived in this bothy.  It<\/div>\n
was not as rough when used as a home for under gardeners.  But it was rough.<\/div>\n
Sure could not be much income from 12 year old boys. Hard to believe.<\/div>\n

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This is a tourist image of a bothy interior.  There were many fancy bothys and<\/div>\n
I believe a great many that were run down.<\/div>\n

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The LADDER THAT MUST BE CLIMBED TO BECOME HEAD GARDENER<\/div>\n

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1) INTELLIGENCE – SHOW APTITUDE WHEN YOU ARE 12 – 14 YEARS OLD<\/div>\n
2) Apprentice for up to15 years<\/div>\n
3) Gardeners Boy – usually 12 to 14 years old -washes flower pots (piles of them)<\/div>\n
      -keep fires going in greenhouse,  keep paths swept because owners liked to<\/div>\n
       brag about gardens.-10 hour workday, 6 day week, evening reading horticultural magazines,<\/div>\n
       -expected to pay head gardener for his instructions  <\/div>\n
    -fined if gardeners boy broke rules<\/div>\n
4) Improvers – 17 to 18 years old  – lived beside journeymen (in bothy)  <\/div>\n
5) Journeymen  -gardeners who moved around – in their 20\u2019s  -slept in bothy -expected to remain single<\/div>\n
     -expected to study botany, etymology, plant physiology, breeding -expected to show originality by<\/div>\n
     introducing exotic plants<\/div>\n
6) Head Gardener  -host of expectations -owners of estates expected head gardeners to make<\/div>\n
    estates \u2019show places\u2019 -a lot of pressure- sometimes new estate owners brought new head gardener<\/div>\n
    -job held at whim of owners who wanted to show innovative gardens to visitors\u2026very competitive<\/div>\n
   -visitors wanted to see the roadway to estate with curves, plantings and vistas.  See previous article<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
on Capability Brown.<\/div>\n
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Lancelot<\/b> “Capability<\/b>” Brown<\/b> (born c. 1715\u201316, baptised 30 August 1716 \u2013 6 February 1783)[<\/span>1]<\/span><\/a><\/sup> was an English gardener and landscape architect<\/a>, a notable figure in the history of the English landscape garden<\/a> style.<\/p>\n

Unlike other architects including William Kent<\/a>, he was a hands-on gardener and provided his clients with a full turnkey<\/a> service, designing the gardens and park, and then managing their landscaping and planting. He is most famous for the landscaped parks of English country houses<\/a>, many of which have survived reasonably intact. However, he also included in his plans “pleasure gardens” with flower gardens and the new shrubberies<\/a>, usually placed where they would not obstruct the views across the park of and from the main facades of the house. Few of his plantings of “pleasure gardens” have survived later changes. He also submitted plans for much smaller urban projects, for example the college gardens along The Backs<\/a> at Cambridge<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Criticism of his style, both in his own day and subsequently, mostly centres on the claim that “he created ‘identikit’ landscapes with the main house in a sea of turf, some water, albeit often an impressive feature, and trees in clumps and shelterbelts”, giving “a uniformity equating to authoritarianism” and showing a lack of imagination and even taste on the part of his patrons.[<\/span>2]<\/span><\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

He designed more than 170 parks, many of which survive. He was nicknamed “Capability” because he would tell his clients that their property had “capability” for improvement.[<\/span>3]<\/span><\/a><\/sup> His influence was so great that the contributions to the English garden<\/a>made by his predecessors Charles Bridgeman<\/a> and William Kent<\/a> are often overlooked; even Kent’s champion Horace Walpole<\/a> allowed that Kent “was succeeded by a very able master”.[<\/span>4]<\/span><\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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Head Gardener (man)<\/span><\/span>: This was a very important role in a big house considering gardens were the first thing visitors saw upon their arrival and therefore impressive. The head gardener was knowledgeable regarding horticulture, water features and knew about gardening trends. He also worked in the kitchen gardens, growing fruits and vegetables and remedies for the household. If a house had an orangery, he would be in charge of that as well. The gardener position was considered \u201cupper management\u201d but considering it was an outdoors role, he was not within the hierarchy of the servants who worked indoors. He and his family often lived in a house on the estate. Oversaw the Gardener\/Groundskeepers.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Average \u00a3110 pound a year \/ $536.00 (19th Century) <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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*lodgings included<\/span><\/span><\/span>
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Chantel Grayson \u2014 a good source if you need more<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n

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If you’re looking for information on the duties of a head gardener, here are the key responsibilities:<\/p>\n

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  1. Plan and design garden layouts and planting schemes.<\/li>\n
  2. Oversee the maintenance of plants, including watering, pruning, and fertilizing.<\/li>\n
  3. Manage a team of gardeners and delegate tasks effectively.<\/li>\n
  4. Monitor plant health and implement pest control measures.<\/li>\n
  5. Maintain garden tools and equipment in good working order.<\/li>\n
  6. Keep records of plant growth, maintenance schedules, and budgets.<\/li>\n
  7. Ensure compliance with health and safety regulations.<\/li>\n
  8. Collaborate with landscape architects and horticulturists for projects.<\/li>\n
  9. Educate staff and visitors about gardening techniques and plant care.<\/li>\n
  10. Organize seasonal planting and harvesting activities.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n

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    I was surprised to discover that Edward Freeman did not like his job\u2026too much pressure.<\/div>\n
    In spite of the huge difficulties he faced in Canada, he considered a life of near<\/div>\n
    poverty better than a life of near slavery as a head gardener.<\/div>\n

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    THE head gardeners carried a huge load of responsibilities.  They could be fired<\/div>\n
    at the whim of their estate owners\u2026and often were.  Some new owners arrived<\/div>\n
    at the new estate with their own head gardeners. The resident head gardener was<\/div>\n
    let go\u2026i.e. fired\u2026and had to look for a new estate.  Before 1914 there were<\/div>\n
    lots of opportunities.  After World War One owners of large estates declined<\/div>\n
    and many estates were demolished. Not much is known about the fate of the<\/div>\n
    4000 head gardeners in England in1914.  <\/div>\n

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    Head gardeners seem to have been loyal types… around half of them volunteered<\/div>\n
    for battle and did not survive the slaughter.  Such is true of the under gardeners as well.<\/div>\n

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    Edward Freeman migrated to Canada in 1906.   I think he expected a better life<\/div>\n
    where he did not need  to tip his hat to his \u2018betters\u2019.   The life he faced<\/div>\n
    after 1906 severely tested his optimism as you will discover.<\/div>\n

    <\/div>\n
    alan<\/div>\n

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    Below is an interesting article on head gardeners.<\/div>\n
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    HOME<\/a><\/span> \u00bb NEWS<\/a><\/span> \u00bb THE MATTHEW BALLS ARCHIVE: THE DISCOVERY OF A VICTORIAN HEAD GARDENER<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    THE MATTHEW BALLS ARCHIVE: THE DISCOVERY OF A VICTORIAN HEAD GARDENER<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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    Rosie Vizor, Garden Museum Archivist<\/h2>\n
    With the Museum being closed to visitors, now is a good opportunity to delve into the boxes of some of the lesser known archives we hold. This week, I have been cataloguing the archive of Victorian Head Gardener, Matthew Balls (1817-1905). Since our collecting focus is contemporary and 20th<\/span> century garden design, I was excited to see this older material, especially because archives of Victorian Head Gardeners are rare.<\/div>\n
    When we think of Victorian gardens, we picture colourful carpet bedding, great glasshouses, elaborate fountains and statues, exotic plants and trees in arboretums. We associate them with the famous landscape designers and plant hunters of the time, but garden historian Toby Musgrave argues that Head Gardeners are the \u2018Forgotten Heroes of Horticulture\u2019. [1] It was they who had to cultivate plants on home soil and the great majority of country house gardens were designed by the Head Gardener, not by a travelling professional designer.<\/div>\n
    The Head Gardener has been an elusive character for many years; his name may appear on a list of the owners\u2019 wage payments, or attached to a variety he first cultivated, but little of his personal life is recorded, especially not by himself. That\u2019s what makes the Matthew Balls Archive so precious; donated in 2011 by Anthony Paice, Balls\u2019 great-great grandson, it arrived with an accompanying family history tracing back to 1575.<\/div>\n
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    Hand-coloured photograph of Matthew Balls with a pruning knife and potted plant, c. 1846-1869<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
    Matthew Balls was born on 23 March 1817 at Gaynes Hall, West Perry, Cambridgeshire, to Henry and Ann Balls, who were both servants. Henry was a gardener, as was Matthew\u2019s grandfather. Matthew married Elizabeth Flint on 30 July 1842 in Godmanchester. They subsequently moved to Hertfordshire, where he was appointed Head Gardener at Stagenhoe Park by the time he was 30, but what happened in between? How did he rise to such an illustrious post, leading a team of up to 20 gardeners?<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    episode 2,229;   EDWARD FREEMAN – BOTHYS and  HOW TO BECOME A HEAD GARDENER in 1900 alan skeoch January 28, 2025 Under gardeners once lived here (see below) GARDENERS BOTHYS and HOW TO BECOME A HEAD GARDINER The bothy was barely  visible.   Looked like a hole in the north side of Eywood Gardens. (above) […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26896","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26896","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=26896"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26896\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=26896"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=26896"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=26896"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}