The Windebank family
William Windebank (b. 1800, Bishops Waltham) is first recorded at Bevois Mount in 1829 as a gardener living in Bevois Mount lodge with his wife Susan (nee Ewins) The 50 plus acres of gardens were in part designed by Alexander Pope in the 1700s and noted for their unrivalled beauty.
William and Susan had five children all born at Bevois Mount and christened at St. Mary’s church:
Charlotte b. 1829
William b.1830
James b. 1833
Susanna b.1837
George b. 1841
William and Susan had five children all born at Bevois Mount and christened at St. Mary’s church:
Charlotte b. 1829
William b.1830
James b. 1833
Susanna b.1837
George b. 1841
The Windebank’s move to Bevois valley by 1851. The start of William’s own nursery there seems to coincide with the initial sale of Bevois Mount estate c.1845. By 1861 it is recorded that he is employing “12 boys”. The nursery of about half an acre is:
“immediately contiguous to the river Itchen, and liable, from its low situation, to be occasionally inundated by the overflow of the sea. Here we found a span-roofed house entirely filled on the one side with Primulas, on the other with variegated Pelargoniums … the Primulas were very fine and distinct.”
– The Gardener VI, William Thomson, 1869
“immediately contiguous to the river Itchen, and liable, from its low situation, to be occasionally inundated by the overflow of the sea. Here we found a span-roofed house entirely filled on the one side with Primulas, on the other with variegated Pelargoniums … the Primulas were very fine and distinct.”
– The Gardener VI, William Thomson, 1869
A second nursery is acquired, probably during the later sale of the remaining estate, in 1855. This larger nursery of 3–4 acres was on the site of the original kitchen garden to the east (now Highcliffe Gardens) of the orangery that was attached to the main estate house.
In February 1869 another description of this second nursery is given:
“there is space for a general nursery stock, besides a good quantity of glass. In a long, low, span-roofed house were the Primulas, and a single glance was sufficient to show the extent of variation now to be seen among them … In addition to Primulas, there were in this house a lot of standard plants of unique Pelargoniums, on stems from 18 to 30 inches in length, some as much as three years old, and in bloom all the year round … In a lean-to Peach-house were a capital lot of Aucubas, covered with berries, and a fine lot of Liliumauratum starting into growth … they have recently improved upon in a variety (of pelargoniums) named Russell Gurney, which we saw, and very promising indeed it looked. This was in a long, low span-roofed house used for propagating purposes, and in which there were great quantities of young bedding plants of various kind.”
– The Gardener VI, William Thomson, 1869
Note: Russell Gurney was MP for Southampton, 1865–1878.
“there is space for a general nursery stock, besides a good quantity of glass. In a long, low, span-roofed house were the Primulas, and a single glance was sufficient to show the extent of variation now to be seen among them … In addition to Primulas, there were in this house a lot of standard plants of unique Pelargoniums, on stems from 18 to 30 inches in length, some as much as three years old, and in bloom all the year round … In a lean-to Peach-house were a capital lot of Aucubas, covered with berries, and a fine lot of Liliumauratum starting into growth … they have recently improved upon in a variety (of pelargoniums) named Russell Gurney, which we saw, and very promising indeed it looked. This was in a long, low span-roofed house used for propagating purposes, and in which there were great quantities of young bedding plants of various kind.”
– The Gardener VI, William Thomson, 1869
Note: Russell Gurney was MP for Southampton, 1865–1878.
By 1871 the William Windebanks family had moved to Avenue Road, close to the nursery. Both William senior and his son William gained a reputation as fine horticulturists specialising in pelargoniums and primula, being documented in 1866 in “The Horticulturist” and other publications.
William seniors eldest son died prematurely a year before his own death in 1879. William senior’s obituary describes his cultivation and collection of Chinese Primula “perhaps unrivalled for variety or excellence in the Kingdom.”
His family, especially the youngest son George and his eldest daughter Charlotte, continued the nursery and seed outlet until at least 1901 after which the area in Cedar Road was sold and Highcliffe Gardens built.
William Windebank the third lived in Lodge Road and Rose Road. He was the Honorary Secretary of Southampton Ramblers Association until at least 1940. His house was bombed in the same WWII raid that destroyed St Barnabus church and although he is not listed as a fatality his house was not rebuilt.
– F.B.
William seniors eldest son died prematurely a year before his own death in 1879. William senior’s obituary describes his cultivation and collection of Chinese Primula “perhaps unrivalled for variety or excellence in the Kingdom.”
His family, especially the youngest son George and his eldest daughter Charlotte, continued the nursery and seed outlet until at least 1901 after which the area in Cedar Road was sold and Highcliffe Gardens built.
William Windebank the third lived in Lodge Road and Rose Road. He was the Honorary Secretary of Southampton Ramblers Association until at least 1940. His house was bombed in the same WWII raid that destroyed St Barnabus church and although he is not listed as a fatality his house was not rebuilt.
– F.B.