Dr. Wilfred Edward Shewell-Cooper (15 September 1900 – 21 February 1982) was a British

organic gardener The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to organic gardening and farming: Organic farming – alternative agricultural system that relies on fertilizers of organic origin such as compost, manure, green manur ...

and pioneer of

no-dig gardening No-dig gardening is a non-cultivation method used by some organic gardeners. The origins of no-dig gardening are unclear, and may be based on pre-industrial or nineteenth-century farming techniques. Masanobu Fukuoka started his pioneering research ...

. He wrote and published several books, including ''Soil, Humus and Health'' (1975), ''The Royal Gardeners'' (1952), ''Grow Your Own Food Supply'' (1939), and ''The ABC of Vegetable Gardening'' (1937). In 1966, he founded the Good Gardeners Association. For many years, his gardens at

Arkley Arkley is an area of north London, England, within the London Borough of Barnet. It is located north-northwest of Charing Cross. It consists of a long village strung out between Barnet and Stirling Corner, roughly centred on the "Gate" pub, ...

Manor were open to the public, allowing the results of his no-dig methods, indicated by a symbol featuring a robin resting on a spade handle, to be seen first-hand.

Childhood and education

Shewell-Cooper was born in

Waltham Abbey Waltham Abbey is a town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex, within the metropolitan and urban area of London, England, north-east of Charing Cross. It lies on the Greenwich Meridian, between the River Lea in the west and E ...

, Essex, England in 1900. His father, E. Shewell-Cooper, was a major in the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

and was also the assistant superintendent of the gunpowder factory in

. From there, the family moved to

Blackheath, London Blackheath is an area in Southeast London, straddling the border of the Royal Borough of Greenwich and the London Borough of Lewisham. It is located northeast of Lewisham, south of Greenwich and southeast of Charing Cross, the traditional ce ...

, and then to

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 ...

, Wales. Before the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, the family set sail on the ''Galaka'' for

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

, where they lived in

Rondebosch Rondebosch is one of the Southern Suburbs of Cape Town, South Africa. It is primarily a residential suburb, with shopping and business districts as well as the main campus of the University of Cape Town. History Four years after the first Dutch s ...

, now a suburb of Cape Town. While there, he went to school at

Diocesan College The Diocesan College (commonly known as Bishops) is a private, English medium, boarding and day high school for boys situated in the suburb of Rondebosch in Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. The school was established on ...

. When he returned to England, he attended

Monkton Combe School (Thy Word is Truth) , established = , type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school , founder = The Revd Francis Pocock , head_label = Head Master , head ...

just outside

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

Family and career

Shewell-Cooper, married Irene Ramsey Pennicott. He was a prolific author of gardening books and together they wrote a cookery book called ''Cook What You Grow'' (1940). They had two sons, Ramsay and Jeremy. Over the course of his life, Shewell-Cooper held a number of positions, some of which are listed below: * Fellow of the Horticultural Society of Vienna * Director of the Horticultural Educational and Advisory Bureau * Principal of the Horticultural Training Centre * Hon. Superintendent of the

Swanley Horticultural College Swanley Horticultural College, founded in , was a college of horticulture in Hextable, Kent, England. It originally took only male students but by 1894 the majority of students were female and it became a women-only institution in 1903. Early hi ...

* Horticultural advisor to the Warwickshire and Cheshire County Councils * Hon. Treasurer of the Westbank House, Hextable, 1937–38 * Garden editor of the

BBC North BBC North (Group) is an operational business division of the BBC. It is also a brand that has been used by the BBC to mean: *The large ''BBC North'' region, centred on Manchester, that was active from the late 1920s until 1968 and was based up ...

Region * Command Horticultural Officer, S.E. and Eastern Commands, 1940–1948

Arkley Manor

In 1960, Sir John Laing suggested that Shewell-Cooper move to

Manor; this was his home until his death in 1982.

Legacy

Ramsay Shewell-Cooper, who died in 2016, continued to promote his father's no-dig gardening approach and, as of 2008, a demonstration plot was to be seen at

Capel Manor College __NOTOC__ Capel Manor College is a special environmental college located in Enfield, London. The College has six campuses across the capital, Brooks Farm (Leyton), Crystal Palace Park, Enfield, Gunnersbury Park, Mottingham and Regent’s Park. ...

in Enfield, in conjunction with the Good Gardeners' Association.

Bibliography

Shewell-Cooper's published works include:

References