Our founder, William Robinson, started the nursery in 1860. At that time the nursery grew a very different range of crops, ranging from soft fruit, apples plums and pears, to onions, leeks and all the usual vegetables of the time. He also kept cows and horses to use on the smallholding. The nursery was as is now a spread of 22acres. The orchard still has some of the old varieties of fruit planted at this time. Glasshouses have over the years been replaced by the modern equivalent although many of the original buildings still stand.
The next generation, again called William Robinson, worked on increasing the size of onions and leeks. This was done, as it still is today, by selecting only the best specimens to produce seeds. He displayed his results at local Flower Shows and won many prizes. Soon, other exhibitors wanted to grow his strain, leading to the vegetable business we know today. He named all his large vegetable varieties with the prefix Mammoth, a tradition that remains. Like many of his time, he kept detailed diaries, and these notes still guide the family in growing vegetables. Many unique types and varieties of vegetables are a lasting legacy of those early efforts.
The 3rd generation In the 1950’s and 60’s, William Martin Robinson, though called Martin to differentiate between his fathers, brought the large strains into the forefront of exhibition varieties. He was awarded the Royal Horticultural Societies Victoria Medal of Honour in 1979 and in 1986 made a Fellow of the Institute of Horticulture. He was instrumental in the foundation of the National Vegetable Society and for many years their Chairman and President. In 1972 all the varieties were registered under the EU rules as distinct and could now be sold in Europe.
Our nursery seed bank is home to a wide range of unique vegetables. Back in the mid-1900s, these were seen as unusual, but over time they’ve become widely grown, much like the variety of squashes now found in many kitchens. Every seed is still cared for with the same strict standards upheld for 165 years. Now run by the 4th and 5th generations, the nursery carries on the tradition of growing vegetables that are as beautiful as they are tasty. As a proud family business on the same site as our ancestors, we make sure all seeds are cultivated naturally.
For our exhibition vegetables, the soil has been prepared with natural products using the same method for over 160 years. All plants are grown in loam-based John Innes compost. Our glasshouses are heated with biomass boilers, and garden pests are managed using predators or natural sprays instead of chemicals.
