By Zilla Oddy (Scottish Borders Council Museums & Galleries Service)
A Seed is Planted
On 19th June 1815 - the day after the Battle of Waterloo - 17 men met in the Spread Eagle Inn in Jedburgh for the purpose of forming themselves into a society called “The Jedburgh Horticultural Society”. Daniel Crichton, gardener to the Earl of Minto, was unanimously elected President.
Following this meeting, a notice was published in the Kelso Mail:-
“We are happy to understand that a Society has been instituted in Jedburgh called The Jedburgh Horticultural Society, composed of intelligent practical gardeners and amateurs of gardening. A meeting took place on Monday last which was respectably attended and we learn that another meeting is to be held on Wednesday 5th July at 12 o’clock noon, for the purpose of settling the resolutions and electing the office bearers at which time members and strangers may bring forward anything which they may think deserving of notice of the society by way of experiment. Any persons wishing to become members are requested to leave their names at the Spread Eagle Inn.”
At the meeting on 5th July 1815, James Gourley (gardener at Chesters) was elected Vice President and William Fletcher (seedsman in Jedburgh), Treasurer. Six further members were elected Councillors, who formed the Committee. They were Walter Rutherford (saddler, Jedburgh), John Renwick (seedsman), Thomas Weir (gardener to John Rutherford of Edgerston), George Scott (gardener), John Frith (gardener) and Thomas Caverhill (merchant).
The Regulations (rules) of The Jedburgh Horticultural Society, stated that there would be 2 types of members of the Society – Ordinary and Honorary members. Ordinary members would “consist of intelligent practical gardeners, and of amateurs of gardening, residing in any part of the British Empire”. They would pay the Treasurer half a guinea within one month of their election, and half a guinea each year afterwards (about £20 in today’s money).
The Honorary Members would be “Noblemen and Gentlemen who do not usually reside in Jedburgh, and who are distinguished amateurs in gardening.” They could attend meetings, but would not be required to pay an annual subscription, and could not vote regarding the management of the Society’s funds, unless they chose to pay the subscription.
The objects of the Society were promoting and improving the cultivation of “the best kinds of Fruits and most choice sorts of Flowers and of those Vegetables which are most useful in the Kitchen”. The first competitions were held on 15th August 1815 when the Society’s Silver Medal was awarded for the “Best Parcel containing one sort of red, one sort of green, one of yellow gooseberries. Twelve of each sort to be produced with their names”. The Society’s Silver Medal was also given for the best three carnations and the best melon.
At the first Annual Meeting of the Society on 5th September, there was a great display of fruit and vegetables which were judged by the Society’s Committee. In the early days of the Society much of the fruit grown and exhibited was surprisingly exotic – grapes, peaches, nectarines and apricots – as well as more humble varieties, such as apples, pears and plums. This was because many of the members were gardeners working for landed gentry in the area, who would have had glasshouses and the means to heat them. The minutes of 4th December 1816 refer to the Society as “The Roxburghshire Horticultural Society”, rather than “The Jedburgh Horticultural Society”. The following summer, it was noted in the minutes that “the meeting were highly pleased with the variety and beauty of the flowers produced and particularly the Bizarre Ranunculuses belonging to Mr Walter Rutherford and Mr Geo Scott, Jedburgh. Sensible of the rapid improvement made in the cultivation of flowers in this District since the commencement of the Society they anticipate that a result equally favourable will in time be produced on fruits and such articles as require greater perseverance.”
At the Society’s meeting on 6th November 1829, Mr Kerr from Hassendeanburn presented a staggering 125 different varieties of apples with their names. The minutes of the meeting record that “The specimens were considered to be so very superior to anything that had ever been brought forward that the judges awarded a medal for the same and recommended that special mention should be made of them when the Report was given to the public.”
Although the members seem to have been mostly men in the early days of the Society, at the meeting held in the Spread Eagle Assembly Room on 19th September 1848, a vote of thanks was given to Mrs Dodds of Nisbet for a fine collection of hollyhocks, French and African marigolds, stocks, roses and geraniums.
The Plant takes Root
In March 1851 it was agreed to unite The Roxburghshire Horticultural Society with The Jedburgh Amateur Horticultural Society. The Society became known as “The United Roxburghshire and Jedburgh Amateur Horticultural Society” (the word “Amateur” was dropped from the Society’s name in 1902). It was decided that there would be two classes of subscribers, the First Class paying 6 shillings a year, and the Second Class (amateur gardeners) paying 3 shillings, with separate competitions for each class of member. By the mid-nineteenth century the Society was holding meetings in April, May, July, September and December, with competitions taking place at all 5 meetings. The April, May and December meetings were held in the Assembly Room of the Spread Eagle Hotel, while the July and September meetings took place in a large marquee which was erected on the Abbey Green.
In 1859 this marquee was lent to the local Poultry Society for their exhibition and returned damaged. The marquee and show tables were destroyed in a fire the following year. The two societies approached the Earl of Home, the Marquis of Lothian and Lord Chancellor Campbell to donate wood to make new show tables. It was agreed to rent a place to keep these tables, two thirds of the rent to be paid by the Horticultural Society and one third by the Poultry Society, as they would not need to use the tables as often. Following the destruction of the marquee, the Horticultural Society held its exhibitions in the Corn Exchange in Jedburgh.
In addition to classes for cultivated flowers, fruit and vegetables, at the July Meeting there was a class for the best hand bouquets of native wild flowers open to girls aged 15 and under, and another open to boys of the same age. In 1857 the 1st prize was won by William Veitch of Jedburgh whose bouquet contained 50 different varieties of wild flowers.
In 1860 was decided that the Society’s dinner should in future take place at the same time as the Annual General Meeting. All the Jedburgh innkeepers were members of the Society, so it seems that the dinner was held in different inns at various times, to spread the Society’s custom. In 1861 it took place in the large room in Mrs Horburgh’s Hotel in the Canongate. She provided 48 members with “a sumptuous repast” and the room was tastefully decorated with evergreens provided by Andrew Goodfellow, forester at Hartrigge House in Jedburgh.
In 1865 the Society celebrated having been in existence for 50 years with a “Grand Floral Jubilee Commemoration” in connection with its Autumn Show in the Corn Exchange on 29th August. There were extra Jubilee prizes to be competed for, and a large number of ladies and gentlemen came to look at the displays of flowers, fruit, vegetables and greenhouse plants.
A Committee from the Society decorated the front of the County Buildings in honour of Queen Victoria’s visit to the town on 23rd August 1867. The Kelso Chronicle described the “Massive festoons of evergreens” which reached from the top to the bottom of the building. There were also garlands around each of the large windows and the door, and a crown in the centre of the building “over which rose a graceful cypress growing in a large flower pot”.
The problem of competitors taking exhibits away which were not their own at the end of the shows was addressed in 1880 when a ticket system was introduced and it was agreed that at the end of each show the doors of the Hall should be locked and no one allowed to leave until all the exhibitors were satisfied that they had lifted every exhibits which they had placed on the table.
It was recommended at the Committee Meeting of 15th November 1881 that as it had been found that “great interruption and confusion is caused by parties entering the hall who have no right do so on show mornings”, a ticket system should be used, similar to that in already in place at the close of the shows.
Following the destruction of the Corn Exchange in a fire in 1898, it was decided to hold the show in August 1899 in a marquee in Lothian Park, together with sports to attract the general public. A motion that the Industrial Section should be abolished was defeated, but an amendment that it should continued in a restricted form was agreed to.
At a Special General Meeting on 1st January 1899, members voted to have two shows – one on a Tuesday in July and one on a Saturday in September. There would be sports, including a junior 7 aside football contest and a footrace for boys and one for girls, with prizes, at the September show. A letter of resignation was read from George MacLean, who had held the position of Secretary of the Society.
The Plant is Nurtured
There were no shows held during the First World War. At the Annual General Meeting on 3rd November 1914, it was agreed that as the Secretary and Treasurer, Mr A P Oliver (who was absent from the meeting), had not taken his £3 salary that year, £2 should be given to the Central Aid Fund and £1 to the Belgian Relief Fund.
1915 was the centenary year of the founding of the Society. A Special General Meeting was held on 11th March, with the Vice President, John McLeod in the chair. The minutes of the meeting record that:-
“After some discussion it was unanimously agreed not to hold a show, with regret, the more so seeing a special effort was to have been made this year to celebrate the centenary of the show, the first having been held a few hours after the fate of Europe had been settled on the field of Waterloo.
Rather a strange coincidence to be almost ushered into being with the roar of guns & to struggle on for nigh a 100 years to have its first lapse caused by the deeper roar & crash of modern artillery & all the fiendish devices of men to take a fellow creature’s life.
However, considering the great unrest & upheaval in the country & the feeling that members & Donors of Prizes would want their money for more humane purposes & also seeing that the Secretary and Treasurer, Captain A P Oliver, was serving his country, the members present thought they were acting for the best.”
On 26th July 1917 the Society took part in an exhibition and sale of flowers, fruit and vegetables organised by a committee of local ladies to raise funds for Local War Hospital and Central Aid Funds. A competition was held for the best decorated table by ladies, which was judged by members of the public placing a penny in a box on the table which they liked best. There was also a competition open to children, for sphagnum moss (which was collected and used for dressing wounds during the First World War). After the War, a meeting of those interested in the Society was held on 20th March 1919. The September show that year was cancelled due to an unusually long spell of dry weather during the summer. However, a successful exhibition of fruit and vegetables was held on 1st November.
The inter-war years saw some innovations and changes for the Society. 1920 was a busy year, with two shows – one in August and the other in November. There were a number of classes in the Industrial Section of the August show, including scones, gingerbread, blackcurrant and redcurrant jelly, butter and hens’ eggs, as well as the best walking stick made by an exhibitor. Ladies were appointed to judge the classes in this section, while the judges for the rest of the show were men. Brown & Polson organised a home baking competition for a jam sandwich cake using their “Patent Corn Flour” and “Raisley”. The first prize was a box of their cooking utensils to the value of ten shillings.
Harvesting the Fruit
The 1930s started well, with a whist drive held in March 1931 to raise money for the new staging fund. There was a large attendance at the Autumn Show held in the Royal Hotel the same year. It was followed by the Society’s AGM where the Chairman drew attention to the success of two members at the open competition in London promoted by Amateur Gardening. John Walker had won a prize for roses while Mr W Davidson had been successful with his chrysanthemums.
Following a whist drive and dance early in 1932, there was enough money in the staging fund to buy some new vases and arrange for estimates for new staging and tables.
The show on 2nd September 1933 was opened by Alice Lady Stratheden of Hartrigge. The Society employed a Police Constable on the door of the Public Hall between 10 and 11 am and 8 and 9 pm, to cover the time when the exhibits were brought to the show and removed. It was decided to hold a chrysanthemum show towards the end of November.
There was an increased awareness of the need for publicity for Society events after the First World War, with posters, press adverts and even the town drummer being asked to go around the town on the evening of the show as late as 1938. The Second World War saw a cessation of activity for the Society, with no meetings held between March 1939 and October 1947, when an AGM was held in the Public Hall.
At the 1948 AGM some ladies were elected onto the Committee for the first time on the suggestion of the Vice President, Charles Irvine, “to assist the male members with matters of interest to women”.
A number of the Society’s traditions from before the War continued, such as the competition for tables decorated with cut flowers and foliage, and funds being raised by auctioning produce after the annual Show and holding whist drives and dances. The sweepstake competitions at the AGM were still taking place in the 1950s, but the Prize Show was not held in 1952.
In 1958 it was finally agreed that there should only be one section at the annual Show, thus doing away with the “two tier” system which had existed since the Society was founded. However, there would be some classes which were open only to amateur gardeners, who did not make their whole living from gardening.
In 1959 the Town Council awarded prizes to the best kept gardens, the winner being announced at the Society’s Flower Show. With local government re-organisation in the mid 1970s, this competition was held by Roxburgh District Council, and prizes were still awarded at the Society’s show. Since 1995, a silver salver has been presented by the Society for the best garden in Jedburgh. A Floral Art section was introduced to the show in 1971. The number of classes in the Industrial Section has increased over the years, with new classes for knitting, sewing, handicrafts and photography, as well as baking and preserves. There is now a large Children’s Section, with some classes specifically for youngsters from local Primary schools, Rainbows, Brownies and Guides. This year The United Roxburghshire and Jedburgh Horticultural Society celebrates its bi-centenary – a great achievement, which probably makes it the oldest regional horticultural society in Scotland. The annual Flower Show, held on the first Saturday in September, is a popular and well supported event in the town’s calendar, encouraging the growing of fine examples of fruit, vegetables and flowers through friendly competition. The Society nurtures the gardeners of the future by donating pot plants which are distributed to Primary school pupils before the summer holidays. The children look after the plants and then enter them in the show. With such innovative ideas, the Society can confidently look forward to the next 200 years.