The grave of Patrick Neill, Warriston Cemetery

Patrick Neill (25 October 1776 – 3 September 1851) was a Scottish printer and horticulturalist, known as a naturalist. A founding member, and the first secretary, of both the

Wernerian Natural History Society The Wernerian Natural History Society (12 January 1808 – 16 April 1858), commonly abbreviated as the Wernerian Society, was a learned society interested in the broad field of natural history, and saw papers presented on various topics such as ...

(1808–49) and the

Caledonian Horticultural Society The Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society (RCHS) is the national horticultural society of Scotland, and was founded in 1809.

(1809–49), he is mainly remembered today for having endowed the Neill Medal of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

. Neill' works include ''A Tour Through Some of the Islands of Orkney and Shetland'' (1806), which caused much public debate at the time, due to its descriptions of the economic misery of the islanders. He also authored the ''Gardening'' article in the seventh edition of the ''

Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various time ...

''. This article was subsequently expanded and published as a separate book under the title of ''The Fruit, Flower, and Kitchen Garden'', which was popular and ran through several editions. When the

Nor Loch The Nor Loch, also known as the Nor' Loch and the North Loch, was a man-made loch formerly in Edinburgh, Scotland, in the area now occupied by Princes Street Gardens and Waverley station which lie between the Royal Mile and Princes Street. G ...

was drained in 1820, Neill was commissioned to plan the scheme of planting of 5 acres of land, which is now West Princes Street Gardens. This included the planting of 77,000 trees and shrubs. The rosaceous genus ''

Neillia ''Neillia'' is a genus of the botanical family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain ...

'' is named after Neill.

Life

He was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

on 25 October 1776, and spent his life there. He became the head of the large printing firm of Neill & Co., of Edinburgh, but during the last 30 years of his life he took little active part in its management. Early in his career he devoted his spare time to natural history, especially

botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...

and

horticulture Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...

. The

was established in 1808, and in 1809 the

Caledonian Horticultural Society The Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society (RCHS) is the national horticultural society of Scotland, and was founded in 1809.

was founded. Neill was the first secretary of both societies, holding the latter post for forty years. Cannonmills Cottage garden plan

Neill's residence at Canonmills Cottage (in

Canonmills Canonmills is a district of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It lies to the south east of the Royal Botanic Garden at Inverleith, east of Stockbridge and west of Bellevue, in a low hollow north of Edinburgh's New Town. The area was forme ...

, then near the city of Edinburgh, now a suburb) was open to visitors; and his garden was noted, with

William Brackenridge William Dunlop Brackenridge (1810–1893) was a British-American nurseryman and botanist. Brackenridge emigrated to Philadelphia in 1837, where he was employed by Robert Buist, nurseryman. He was appointed horticulturalist, then assistant botan ...

as head gardener before he moved to Berlin. He was Fellow of the

Linnean Society The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature colle ...

and the

, and honorary LLD of the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

He served as President of the

Botanical Society of Edinburgh The Botanical Society of Scotland (BSS) is the national learned society for botanists of Scotland. The Society's aims are to advance knowledge and appreciation of flowering and cryptogamic plants, algae and fungi. The Society's activities includ ...

in 1842–43.

Death and legacy

A short time before his death he became enfeebled by a stroke of paralysis, and after several months of suffering he died at Canonmills on 3 September 1851, and was buried in

Warriston Cemetery Warriston Cemetery is a cemetery in Edinburgh. It lies in Warriston, one of the northern suburbs of Edinburgh, Scotland. It was built by the then newly-formed Edinburgh Cemetery Company, and occupies around of land on a slightly sloping si ...

, on the western wall in the extreme south-west corner of the original cemetery, just west of the archway to the southern extension. His tombstone states that he was "distinguished for literature, science, patriotism, benevolence, and piety". The memorial was restored by the Friends of Warriston Cemetery 2014/2015. He died unmarried, and among his various charitable bequests was one of £500 to the Caledonian Horticultural Society to found a medal for distinguished Scottish botanists or cultivators (now the ''Dr Patrick Neill Medal''), and a similar sum to the Royal Society of Edinburgh for a medal to distinguished Scottish naturalists. He is botanically commemorated by the rosaceous genus ''

''.

Edinburgh is indebted to Neill for the scheme of the West Princes Street Gardens. In 1820, that portion of the north loch was drained, and five acres of ground were laid out and planted with seventy-seven thousand trees and shrubs under his direction. He also intervened to preserve several antiquities that were on the point of being demolished.

Works

In 1806 appeared his ''Tour through Orkney and Shetland'', a work which gave rise to discussion because of its reports of poverty. In 1814 he issued a translation, ''An Account of the Basalts of Saxony, from the French of Dubuisson, with Notes'', Edinburgh. He was the author of the article "Gardening" in the seventh edition of the ''

'', and it was subsequently published as ''The Flower, Fruit, and Kitchen Garden'' (several editions). In 1817 Neill, with two other deputies from the Caledonian Society, made a tour through the Netherlands and the north of France, and he wrote an account of it, which was published in 1823.

Family

His great niece was the Scottish lady golfer and

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

heroine,

Margaret Neill Fraser Margaret (Madge) Neill Fraser (4 June 1880 – 8 March 1915) known as Madge, was a Scottish First World War nurse and notable amateur golfer. She represented Scotland at international level every year from 1905 to 1914. Life Margaret Neill ...

who died while serving in

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

Botanical Reference

References

External links

''Parks & Gardens UK'' page
;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Neill, Patrick 1776 births 1851 deaths 19th-century British botanists 19th-century Scottish businesspeople Scientists from Edinburgh Burials at Warriston Cemetery Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellows of the Linnean Society of London Scottish antiquarians Scottish botanists Scottish encyclopedists Scottish garden writers Scottish horticulturists Scottish naturalists Scottish printers Scottish travel writers Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland People associated with Shetland