Tresco Abbey Gardens are located on the island of
Tresco Tresco may refer to:
* Tresco, Elizabeth Bay, a historic residence in New South Wales, Australia
* Tresco, Isles of Scilly, an island off Cornwall, England, United Kingdom
* Tresco, Victoria, a town in Victoria, Australia
* a nickname referring to ...
in the
Isles of Scilly
The Isles of Scilly (; kw, Syllan, ', or ) is an archipelago off the southwestern tip of Cornwall, England. One of the islands, St Agnes, is the most southerly point in Britain, being over further south than the most southerly point of the ...
, United Kingdom. The 17 acre gardens were established by the nineteenth-century proprietor of the islands,
Augustus Smith, originally as a private garden within the grounds of the home he designed and built. The gardens are designated at Grade I in the
Register of Historic Parks and Gardens
The Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England provides a listing and classification system for historic parks and gardens similar to that used for listed buildings. The register is managed by Historic England ...
.
Tresco Abbey
Augustus Smith chose Tresco as the site of his home because the site was more or less central in relation to the rest of the islands. It is also close to the
original abbey ruins, is near a fresh water pool and overlooks the sand dunes and beach at Carn Near. The area at the time was barren land and the original building, designed by Smith and started in 1835, was small in comparison to the current building. He made additions to the house in 1843 and 1861. The
Grade II listed house consists of roughly coursed granite with
ashlar
Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...
dressings and a slate roof. Some of the timbers from the 1861 wreck of the
''Award'' were used for the panelling and roof of the new dining room, as well as panelling of the rooms Annet, Rosevean and Rosevear.
His successor,
Thomas Smith-Dorrien-Smith
Lieutenant Thomas Algernon Smith-Dorrien-Smith (7 February 1846 – 6 August 1918) was Lord Proprietor of the Isles of Scilly from 1872 until his death in 1918.
Family
Thomas Algernon Smith-Dorrien-Smith was born on 7 February 1846 at Berkha ...
, added the tower in 1891.
Abbey Gardens
When Augustus Smith chose the area for his house and garden one of his first acts was to build a granite wall for shelter and to scatter
gorse
''Ulex'' (commonly known as gorse, furze, or whin) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. The genus comprises about 20 species of thorny evergreen shrubs in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae. The species are n ...
(''
Ulex europaeus
''Ulex europaeus'', the gorse, common gorse, furze or whin, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae, native to the British Isles and Western Europe.
Description
Growing to tall, it is an evergreen shrub. The young stems are g ...
'') seeds. The seeds were brought from the mainland which suggests that the main gorse plant on the islands was western gorse (''
Ulex gallii
''Ulex gallii'', the western gorse or dwarf furzeA R Clapham, T G Tutin, E F Warburg, ''Flora of the British Isles'', Cambridge, 1962, p. 332 is an evergreen shrub in the pea family (Fabaceae), native to the Atlantic coasts of western Europe: sou ...
'') which, being a low growing plant, would not provide as much shelter.
Within the gardens are the remains of a
Benedictine abbey
, image = Medalla San Benito.PNG
, caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal
, abbreviation = OSB
, formation =
, motto = (English: 'Pray and Work')
, found ...
founded in 964 AD, although the majority of what remains today comes from the
Priory of St Nicholas founded by monks from
Tavistock Abbey
Tavistock Abbey, also known as the Abbey of Saint Mary and Saint Rumon, is a ruined Benedictine abbey in Tavistock, Devon. Nothing remains of the abbey except the refectory, two gateways and a porch. The abbey church, dedicated to Our Lady and S ...
in 1114. There were hardly any trees on the island and the gorse did not provide enough protection so he planted
shelterbelts
A windbreak (shelterbelt) is a planting usually made up of one or more rows of trees or shrubs planted in such a manner as to provide shelter from the wind and to protect soil from erosion. They are commonly planted in hedgerows around the edges ...
. The first were mainly deciduous trees such as, elm (''
Ulmus sp''), sycamore (''
Acer pseudoplatanus
''Acer pseudoplatanus'', known as the sycamore in the British Isles and as the sycamore maple in the United States, is a species of flowering plant in the Sapindus, soapberry and lychee family Sapindaceae. It is a large deciduous, broad-leaved ...
''), oak (''
Quercus sp'') and poplar (''
Populus sp''), and later he planted Monterey cypress (''
Cupressus macrocarpa
''Hesperocyparis macrocarpa'' is a coniferous tree. It is commonly known as the Monterey cypress and is one of several species of cypress trees endemic to California.
The Monterey cypress is found naturally only on the Central Coast of Califor ...
'') and Monterey pine (''
Pinus radiata
''Pinus radiata'' ( syn. ''Pinus insignis''), the Monterey pine, insignis pine or radiata pine, is a species of pine native to the Central Coast of California and Mexico (Guadalupe Island and Cedros island). It is an evergreen conifer in the fa ...
'') which are fast growing and suited to coastal conditions.
A large expansion to the collection was undertaken by
Arthur Dorrien-Smith
Major Arthur Algernon Dorrien-Smith (28 January 1876 – 30 May 1955) was Lord Proprietor of the Isles of Scilly from 1918 to 1920.
Family
Major Arthur Algernon Smith-Dorrien-Smith was born on 28 January 1876, in Oxfordshire, to Thomas Smith ...
in the early years of the 20th century. He made many trips to South Africa looking for suitable trees and plants. He went on the
1907 Sub-Antarctic Islands Scientific Expedition
The Sub-Antarctic Islands Scientific Expedition of 1907 was organised by the Philosophical Institute of Canterbury. The main aim of the expedition was to extend the magnetic survey of New Zealand by investigating Campbell Island and the Aucklan ...
,
which had as its primary object magnetic observation in the Auckland and Campbell Islands. Following the expedition he travelled widely in New Zealand, as well as making a shorter visit to Australia. In 1909 he again visited Australia, New Zealand and the Chatham Islands, returning on . By this time he had amassed a total collection of plants and seeds of about 2280 specimens.
Because of the mild winter climate, the long hours of summer sunshine, and the high walls and hedges around the garden protecting it from the Atlantic winds, the garden is now home to exotic plants from all over the world: the
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...
,
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...
,
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 ...
and
Australasia
Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologica ...
.
Head Gardeners
![In memory of John Hartley](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a7/In_memory_of_John_Hartley.jpg)
*George Davis Vallance ca. 1875 - 1881 (b. 9 Oct 1822 d. 17 Aug 1889) (cite 1881 England Census; Guide to the Isles of Scilly, Tonkin & Tonkin, 1882, pub. F. Rodda))
*James Jenkins 1881 - 1922
*William George Andrews 1922 - 1947
*John Hartley 1948 - 1958
*J.D.H. Smith
*Peter Clough 1973 - 1984
*Mike Nelhams 1984
Red squirrels
In 2012 five
red squirrel
The red squirrel (''Sciurus vulgaris'') is a species of tree squirrel in the genus ''Sciurus'' common throughout Europe and Asia. The red squirrel is an arboreal, primarily herbivorous rodent.
In Great Britain, Ireland, and in Italy numbers ...
s were introduced into the Abbey Gardens. Only two survived so in 2013 the British Wildlife Centre in Surrey provided a new colony which was flown to Tresco by helicopter on a routine flight from
RNAS Culdrose
Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose (RNAS Culdrose, also known as HMS ''Seahawk''; ICAO: EGDR) is a Royal Navy airbase near Helston on the Lizard Peninsula of Cornwall UK, and is one of the largest helicopter bases in Europe. Its main role is ser ...
.
Valhalla Museum
![Valhalla, Tresco Abbey Gardens - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d2/Valhalla%2C_Tresco_Abbey_Gardens_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1766334.jpg)
The Valhalla Museum within Tresco Abbey Gardens features the Valhalla Collection containing some 30
figureheads, as well as name-boards and other decorative carvings from the days of sail. The collection was started by Augustus Smith. Most of the figureheads date from the middle and end of the 19th century and come from merchant sailing vessels or early steamships that were wrecked on the Isles of Scilly. Some of the ships which are represented in the collection are:
* a 17th-century stern decoration of the Greek god
Boreas and possibly carved by
Pierre Puget
Pierre Paul Puget (16 October 1620 – 2 December 1694) was a French Baroque painter, sculptor, architect and engineer. His sculpture expressed emotion, pathos and drama, setting it apart from the more classical and academic sculpture of the ...
, is said to be from a French ship wrecked on Annet in that century.
*
HMS Association
''Association'' was a 90-gun second-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched at Portsmouth Dockyard in 1697.Lavery, Ships of the Line, vol. 1, p. 164.Ships of the Old Navy, ''Association''. She served with distinction at the capture of ...
- wrecked on the night of 22 October 1707 in the
Scilly naval disaster of 1707
The Scilly naval disaster of 1707 was the loss of four warships of a Royal Navy fleet off the Isles of Scilly in severe weather on 22 October 1707. Between 1,400 and 2,000 sailors lost their lives aboard the wrecked vessels, making the incident ...
. The bronze cannon was salvaged from this wreck in 1970. It is a French 18-pounder bronze gun, probably a trophy from the
siege of Toulon (1707)
The siege of Toulon took place between 29 July to 21 August 1707 during the War of the Spanish Succession, when a combined Savoyard-Imperial army supported by a British naval force, attacked the French base at Toulon.
The Allies had insufficie ...
. The main decoration shows the arms of France and Navarre surrounded by the collars of the orders of St Michel and the St Esprit, surmounted by a crown.
*
SS ''Thames'' — wrecked 4 January 1841 near
Gorregan and
Rosevear
Rosevear ( kw, Ros Veur "great promontory") is the largest () of the group of rocks known as the Western Rocks, Isles of Scilly. The islands are on eastern side of the Atlantic Ocean on the south-west approaches to the island of Great Britain ...
.
* ''Alessandro II Grande'' — wrecked 1 January 1851 when she was blown on the Mare ledges, off the south shore of Tresco. There was no loss of life. The figurehead is of
Tsar Alexander I
Alexander I (; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first King of Congress Poland from 1815, and the Grand Duke of Finland from 1809 to his death. He was the eldest son of Emperor Paul I and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg.
The son of Gra ...
.
* ''Mary Hay'' — wrecked 13 April 1852 after hitting the Steeple Rock, on the Bream Ledges which is between Mincarlo and Samson.
* ''Chieftain'' — said to be wrecked in 1856 off St Martin's Head. There is no record of a ship with that name in the
Lloyd's Register
Lloyd's Register Group Limited (LR) is a technical and professional services organisation and a maritime classification society, wholly owned by the Lloyd’s Register Foundation, a UK charity dedicated to research and education in science and ...
[
* ''Award'' — wrecked 19 March 1861 when she was driven onto ]Gweal
Gweal ( kw, Gwydhyel "place of trees") is one of the Isles of Scilly. It is the largest of the seven Norrard Rocks due west of Bryher. The name perhaps refers back to a time before most of the islands' area was inundated.
References
* Weatherh ...
during a force 8 to 9 NNW gale. Her crew of 24 managed to scramble ashore.[
* ''Primos'' — wrecked 24 June 1871 on the ]Seven Stones reef
The Seven Stones reef is a rocky reef nearly west-northwest (WNW) of Land's End, Cornwall and east-northeast (ENE) of the Isles of Scilly. The reef consists of two groups of rocks and is nearly long and in breadth. They rise out of deep water ...
.[
* ''River Lune'' — wrecked 27 June 1879 on the Brothers Rock in Muncoy Neck, between Melledgan and Annet.][
* ''Bernardo'' – sank on Annet in 1888. Her figurehead is said to be ]St Bernard of Clairvaux
Bernard of Clairvaux, O. Cist. ( la, Bernardus Claraevallensis; 109020 August 1153), venerated as Saint Bernard, was an abbot, mystic, co-founder of the Knights Templars, and a major leader in the reformation of the Benedictine Order through ...
.
* ''Lofaro'' — wrecked 2 February 1902 struck Merrick Rock, St Martin's with the loss of her crew.[
]
See also
* Listed buildings in Tresco, Isles of Scilly
Tresco is a civil parish in the Isles of Scilly, Cornwall, England. The parish contains 16 buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England as designated listed buildings. Of these, two are listed at Grade II*, t ...
* List of shipwrecks of the Isles of Scilly
The list of shipwrecks of the Isles of Scilly is a list of ships which sank on or near the Isles of Scilly.
The list includes ships that sustained a damaged hull, which were later refloated and repaired.
Before 1601
1305
* an unnamed sailing ...
* Tresco Priory
References
External links
Tresco Abbey Gardens
{{Commons category, Abbey Gardens, Tresco
1835 establishments in England
Botanical gardens in Cornwall
Environment of the Isles of Scilly
Gardens in Cornwall
Museums in Cornwall
Tresco, Isles of Scilly