Ralph Hancock (2 July 1893 – 30 August 1950) was a Welsh landscape gardener, architect and author. Hancock built gardens in the

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in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s and in the

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in the 1930s. He is known for the roof gardens at Derry and Toms in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and the

Rockefeller Center Rockefeller Center is a large complex consisting of 19 commerce, commercial buildings covering between 48th Street (Manhattan), 48th Street and 51st Street (Manhattan), 51st Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The 14 original Art Deco ...

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, the garden at Twyn-yr-Hydd House in

Margam Margam is a suburb and community of Port Talbot in the Welsh county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, close to junction 39 of the M4 motorway. The community had a population of 3,017 in 2011; the built up area being larger and extending into T ...

, and the rock and water garden he built for Princess Victoria at

Coppins Coppins is a country house north of the village of Iver in Buckinghamshire, England, formerly a home of members of the British royal family, including Princess Victoria, Prince George, Duke of Kent, Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent and Prince ...

Iver Iver is a large civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England. In addition to the central clustered village, the parish includes the residential neighbourhoods of Iver Heath and Richings Park. Geography, transport and economy Part of the 43-square- ...

, England.

Early life

Clarence Henry Ralph Hancock was born at 20 Keppoch Street,

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

on 2 July 1893. His father Clarence Hancock worked for a company known as Evans and Hancock who were Auctioneers and Estate Agents based at Borough Chambers, Wharton Street, Cardiff. In 1917 Ralph married Hilda Muriel Ellis (known as Muriel) and moved to Augusta Road,

Penarth Penarth (, ) is a town and Community (Wales), community in the Vale of Glamorgan ( cy, Bro Morgannwg), Wales, exactly south of Cardiff city centre on the west shore of the Severn Estuary at the southern end of Cardiff Bay. Penarth is a weal ...

. Their first son, Clarence Neville Bramley Hancock (Bramley), was born in 1918 and their second son, Denys, also born in Penarth in 1920. At this time Hancock's occupation was a Marine and General Insurance Broker working from James Street, Cardiff. However, in 1926 he had changed career, becoming a Fellow of the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nort ...

. He had been known to have an interest in horticulture, particularly

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...

s. Hancock and his family moved to Downside Road,

Sutton, Surrey Sutton is the principal town in the London Borough of Sutton in South London, England. It lies on the lower slopes of the North Downs, and is the administrative headquarters of the Outer London borough. It is south-south west of Charing Cross ...

, England and in 1928 a daughter, Sheila Muriel was born. It was from here in 1927 that Hancock undertook the first of his more famous garden projects, designing and constructing a rock and water garden for H.R.H. Princess Victoria at her home "Coppins" in

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

. Hancock was reported to be extremely proud of the garden and HRH presented to him "a little diamond and sapphire tie pin" one of his most treasured possessions. The main influences of this period was William Robinson and

Gertrude Jekyll Gertrude Jekyll ( ; 29 November 1843 – 8 December 1932) was a British horticulturist, garden designer, craftswoman, photographer, writer and artist. She created over 400 gardens in the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States, and wrote ...

and Ralph incorporated this " arts and crafts movement" into his designs.

America and The Rock

On 31 May 1930, Hancock went to New York City. To promote his work in the U.S., he published an illustrated booklet titled ''English Gardens in America'' in which he described himself as being "Landscape Gardener to HRH the ". The promotional booklet must have worked as Hancock went on to design an exhibition garden at Erie Station in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. He also staged exhibits at the Massachusetts Horticulture Show where he won several awards, including in 1933 the Presidents Cup. He was also one of the designers of the Lydia Duff Gray Hubbard garden in New Jersey which now forms part of the Garden Club of America Collection. But it was between 1933 and 1935 that Ralph was to embark on one of his most ambitious projects, the construction of spectacular gardens at the

in New York. For 75 years, formal gardens have bloomed on the roofs of the British Empire Building and Maison Française. Hancock's "Gardens of the Nations" emulated the cultural styles of gardens from Holland, France, Italy, and England, where each garden had its very own hostess dressed in themed costume. 3,000 tons of earth, 500 tons of bricks, 20,000 bulbs, 100 tons of natural stone, 2,000 trees and shrubs were delivered by the service elevator or man hauled using a block and tackle up the side of the eleven floors of the building. The garden also required 96,000 gallons of water which was lifted by an electric pump. Hancock was confident that what he had created would allow numerous opportunities for other similar gardens in the US. He declared that "the day of penthouse gardening are over and miles and miles of roof space in every metropolis in this country remain to be reclaimed by landscape gardening". Throughout the project Ralph was in regular correspondence with both

John D Rockefeller John Davison Rockefeller Sr. (July 8, 1839 – May 23, 1937) was an American business magnate and philanthropist. He has been widely considered List of richest Americans in history, the wealthiest American of all time and the List of wealthi ...

and

Nelson Rockefeller Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller (July 8, 1908 – January 26, 1979), sometimes referred to by his nickname Rocky, was an American businessman and politician who served as the 41st vice president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. A member of t ...

. As well as designing and building the gardens Hancock also ran the "''Sky Garden Tour''". Visitors were charged a dollar a time. The enterprise did not prove to be profitable and lost approximately $45,000 per year. By 1938 the attraction had closed. Image:Rockefeller_2007.jpg, Rockefeller Center English Roof gardens, 2007. Photo taken by granddaughter of Ralph Hancock.

The roof gardens at Derry and Toms

The gardens at the Rockefeller were visited by Trevor Bowen, the managing director of

Barkers of Kensington Barkers of Kensington was a department store in Kensington High Street, Kensington, London. It began as a small drapery business, John Barker & Company, founded by Sir John Barker, 1st Baronet, John Barker and Sir James Whitehead, 1st Baronet ...

, which had taken over

Derry & Toms Derry & Toms was a London department store that was founded in 1860 in Kensington High Street and was famous for its Roof Garden which opened in 1938. In 1973 the store was closed and became home to Big Biba, which closed in 1975. The site wa ...

, a department store in

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...

, London. Bowen liked what he saw and employed Hancock to create a similar effect in the heart of London. This time Hancock was to build three gardens, each with its own unique style and planting. The gardens were; a Tudor garden with herringbone brickwork, impressive Tudor arches and wrought iron. The Spanish garden complete with palm trees and fountains as well as Moorish colonnades. And a woodland garden, built with a cascade, a river and its very own pink flamingoes. Once again the logistics involved in the construction were impressive. Before planting and building could start a thick bitumastic base was laid on the roof, followed by a layer of loose brick and rubble that was arranged in a fan-like pattern to aid drainage. On top of this was a 36-inch layer of topsoil into which the planting was made. Water came from Derry and Toms own

artesian wells An artesian aquifer is a confined aquifer containing groundwater under positive pressure. An artesian aquifer has trapped water, surrounded by layers of impermeable rock or clay, which apply positive pressure to the water contained within th ...

. On opening day the gardens contained over 500 different varieties of trees and shrubs. The gardens were completed in 1938 at a cost of £25,000 and were officially opened by the

Earl of Athlone The title of Earl of Athlone has been created three times. History It was created first in the Peerage of Ireland in 1692 by William III of England, King William III for General Godard van Reede, 1st Earl of Athlone, Baron van Reede, Lord of ...

in May of that year. Visitors were charged a

shilling The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 12 pence o ...

(5p) to tour the gardens and over the next 30 years over £120,000 was raised for local hospitals. Today, the three gardens look virtually as they did in the late 1930s. Many of the original trees, now covered by preservation orders, remain. Image:Ralph Hancock Plaque.jpg, Ralph Hancock Commemorative Plaque, unveiled by members of the Hancock family on 29 January 2012

Family, the Chelsea Flower Show and World War II

By 1936 the Hancock family were living at 110 Sloane Street in

, and owned a country house at Horne,

Lingfield, Surrey Lingfield is a village and civil parish in the Tandridge district of Surrey, England, approximately south of London. Several buildings date from the Tudor period and the timber-frame medieval church is Grade I listed. The stone cage or old ...

. Ralph had purchased and restored the country house, which was a derelict farmhouse constructed in the 16th century. He also designed and built one of his trademark gardens using many of the features that have become familiar, such as a herringbone brickwork path. Ralph and his young family took to the country life. Ralph decided to keep pigs and, although he employed someone to look after them, he even purchased a pig keeper's white coat, much to the amusement of the family. The family house at Horne was sold by Ralph in 1941. Ralph continued to be a very successful exhibitor at the

Chelsea Flower Show The RHS Chelsea Flower Show, formally known as the ''Great Spring Show'',Phil Clayton, ''The Great Temple Show'' in ''The Garden'' 2008, p.452, The Royal Horticultural Society is a garden show held for five days in May by the Royal Horticultural ...

, winning gold medals in 1936, 1937 and 1938. The gardens constructed at Chelsea had moved away from the naturalistic rock garden style towards the arts and crafts style that is now more associated with his later work. One of Ralph's specialities became the use of Moon Gates, which he used both at Chelsea and a number of other garden projects. His 1938 Chelsea garden was particularly popular. A review in ''Amateur Gardening'' said, "Mr Ralph Hancock had one of the most ambitious schemes in the garden avenue; a model of an old mill cottage, complete with millstream and sunken garden, the whole construction being carried out in a most realistic manner. It was a centre of attraction throughout the show." As well as designing gardens, Hancock also wrote a book titled ''When I Make a Garden'', which was reprinted in 1950 and updated to include images of the Derry and Toms roof gardens as well as later work. He also exhibited gardens at the

Ideal Home Exhibition The Ideal Home Show (formerly called the Ideal Home Exhibition) is an annual event in London, England, held at Olympia . The show was devised by the ''Daily Mail'' newspaper in 1908 and continued to be run by the ''Daily Mail'' until 2009. It wa ...

in 1936, 1937 and 1938. Each of the Ideal Homes gardens was required to conform to a theme. In 1936 the theme was ''Gardens and Music''. The garden featured 1,200 plants that were brought over from the USA. The 1937 theme was ''Gardens of the Lovers''. The theme for the 1938 show was ''Novelists and their Gardens'' for which the designers had to take as inspiration their favourite living author. Ralph chose as his inspiration

Rafael Sabatini Rafael Sabatini (29 April 1875 – 13 February 1950) was an Italian-born British writer of romance and adventure novels. He is best known for his worldwide bestsellers: ''The Sea Hawk'' (1915), ''Scaramouche'' (1921), ''Captain Blood'' (a.k.a ...

. Sabatini was famous for his tales of high adventure such as ''

Scaramouche Scaramouche () or Scaramouch (; from Italian Scaramuccia , literally "little skirmisher") is a stock clown character of the 16th-century commedia dell'arte (comic theatrical arts of Italian literature). The role combined characteristics of the ...

'', '' Captain Blood'' and ''

The Sea Hawk ''The Sea Hawk'' is a 1915 novel by Rafael Sabatini. The story is set over the years 1588–1593 and concerns a retired Cornish seafaring gentleman, Sir Oliver Tressilian, who is villainously betrayed by a jealous half-brother. After being ...

'', all of which became successful motion pictures. ''Captain Blood'' was produced in 1935 and gave a young

Errol Flynn Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn (20 June 1909 – 14 October 1959) was an Australian-American actor who achieved worldwide fame during the Golden Age of Hollywood. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles, frequent partnerships with Olivia ...

his first ever Hollywood starring role. The show catalogue for that year hints at some form of collaboration between the author and the architect. Although of Italian birth Sabatini was living in Hereford. Ralph's garden tribute to Sabatini featured a half-timbered cottage and also his trademark herringbone brickwork. The planting consisted of rhododendrons, heathers and aquatic plants near a winding brook. In 1939 Ralph won a silver cup at Chelsea for a Formal Mediterranean Garden. Gardens and landscapes were put on hold with the advent of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Ralph, Denys and Bramley all joined the military, while Muriel drove ambulances. Ralph, who had previously served in the

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 ...

, was re-activated. Second Lieutenant Denys Hancock joined the

Royal Tank Regiment The Royal Tank Regiment (RTR) is the oldest tank unit in the world, being formed by the British Army in 1916 during the First World War. Today, it is the armoured regiment of the British Army's 12th Armoured Infantry Brigade. Formerly known as th ...

, and Captain Bramley Hancock served as an artillery

forward observation officer An artillery observer, artillery spotter or forward observer (FO) is responsible for directing artillery and mortar (weapon), mortar shooting, fire onto a target. It may be a ''forward air controller'' (FAC) for close air support (CAS) and spo ...

. Sheila, who was 11 when war was declared, was sent to the neutral U.S. to stay with friends. Denys Hancock would later die in November 1941 during

Operation Crusader Operation Crusader (18 November – 30 December 1941) was a military operation of the Western Desert Campaign during the Second World War by the British Eighth Army (United Kingdom), Eighth Army (with Commonwealth, Indian and Allied contingents) ...

in North Africa. Back in England, Derry and Toms was damaged during an air raid. However, after the war ended it was rebuilt. Although the garden was restored to its pre-war splendour neither Ralph nor Muriel fully recovered after the death of their youngest son, Denys.

The latter years

After World War II, Hancock began to work with his son, Bramley. Together they constructed hundreds of private gardens throughout the United Kingdom. Ralph Hancock also submitted elaborate plans to several City Councils, including Gardens for Cardiff, Hull and Peace Gardens at Temple Newsam in Leeds. None of the plans were ever taken up. Nineteen forty-seven saw the Chelsea Flower Show restart. Hancock returned with a

rock garden A rock garden, also known as a rockery and formerly as a rockwork, is a garden, or more often a part of a garden, with a landscaping framework of rocks, stones, and gravel, with planting appropriate to this setting. Usually these are small A ...

and a

formal garden A formal garden is a garden with a clear structure, geometric shapes and in most cases a symmetrical layout. Its origin goes back to the gardens which are located in the desert areas of Western Asia and are protected by walls. The style of a forma ...

, he also had an exhibit in the garden designers section. It was at one of these post-war Chelsea shows that Sir David Evans Bevans, a Director at Barclays Bank commissioned Ralph and Bramley to build the gardens at Twyn-yr-Hydd. Hancock had also purchased a little cottage at Chailey Green, near

Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. It is the police and judicial centre for all of Sussex and is home to Sussex Police, East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, Lewes Crown Court and HMP Lewes. The civil parish is the centre of ...

, Sussex. He had planned to restore the cottage and had drawn up plans to do so. Ralph died before work started and it was left to Bramley to complete the restoration. The gardens at Twyn-yr-Hydd were the last designed by Hancock before his death of a heart attack on 30 August 1950.

Books by this author

''When I Make a Garden''
1935, Reprinted 1950.

Sources

* Information about Ralph Hancock is taken from various sources including; ''Welsh Living'', Spring 2007 edition. ''Western Mail'', 17 April 2007 (Author: Bob Priddle). ''BBC Radio Wales – Jamie Owen Show'', 30 April 2007; ''Derry and Toms 1828 – present'' (Information sheet by Becky Burns, Head Gardener, The Roof Gardens, Kensington). ''When I Make a Garden'' (Ralph Hancock FRHS) 1936 and 1950. As well as original research undertaken by the students of Neath and Port Talbot College Horticulture Department, Garden History Course 2006–2007 and from the collective memories of the Hancock family.

References

External links

W8 roof gardens

Ralph Hancock Family BlogRalph Hancock website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hancock, Ralph Architects from Cardiff Arts and Crafts movement artists Welsh landscape architects Welsh garden writers 1893 births 1950 deaths British military personnel of World War I British military personnel of World War II Military personnel from Cardiff