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Apples painted by
May Rivers,
c.1890
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|
| Hanoverian Rulers: George I |
1725
choosing a site
|
John Rivers from Basildon in Berkshire came to
Sawbridgeworth looking for the ideal piece of land for a nursery.
The land he chose, to the east of the village, was reasonably level
but sloping to the north, east and south. The soil was light and sandy with some medium and heavy clay.
|
| 1744 London Rd.,
Sawbridgeworth
in hands of Turnpike Trust |
|
Thomas Rivers (1706-1780) (the first Thomas) continued his
father’s business.
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|
1769 Stort River Canal opens.
1772 Kew becomes a botanic
garden
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|
John Rivers (1744-1814) nephew, conducted the business
until retirement in 1792. Early
records are not extensive but fruit trees, roses, shrubs, forest trees and
conifers were all grown in considerable numbers and some research was carried
out on these and on grasses. Much of the business was in providing plants for
great houses with estate gardens.
|
| Abolition of the Slave Trade |
1792
advancing rose
cultivation
|
Thomas Rivers (1770-1844) (the second Thomas) took over
the nursery from his father. His
particular interest was roses. He introduced the standard rose into England.
In 1837, he published ‘The Rose
Amateur’s Guide’, a supplement to the ‘Catalogue of Roses’ of 1833. |
| Victoria 1837-1901; |
1827
developing fruit
culture
|
Thomas Rivers (1797-1877) (the third Thomas) took over the
nursery management in 1827. He
carried on the family interest in roses but his great love was in developing
new fruit cultivars. |
 |
Portrait
of Thomas Rivers,
front cover of
'The Garden' 1873 |
|
| 1845 Railway through town on way
from Norwich to London |
1849 |
Henry R. Rivers, Churchwarden of Gt. St. Mary’s, was
instrumental in raising money for restoration of the Nave. |
| Crystal Palace Exhibition |
1850 |
The tax on glass was removed, making glasshouses possible.
Growing trees in pots in glasshouses accelerated the fruiting and helped the
process of introducing new varieties. Experiments in fruit growing were being
carried out. Thomas Rivers (3rd) journeyed to France and Belgium
to look at the various systems of training adopted abroad. Many varieties were brought over to
Sawbridgeworth for trial under English conditions between 1840 and 1860. Thomas Rivers published ‘Miniature Fruit
Garden’ which by 1891had gone to 20 editions. |
| Local population increases by
52%, 1801-1851 |
1851 |
Thomas Rivers (3rd) published ‘The Orchard
House or the Cultivation of Fruit Trees in Pots under Glass’, to raise funds
for Gt. St. Mary’s Church. This book
gave the early designs of glasshouses and of heating systems. |
 |
Pollinating
with
a paintbrush. |
|
| 1859 Darwin’s Origin of
Species |
1854 |
Thomas Rivers (3rd) took part in founding the
British Pomological Society. |
|
1870 |
A memorial portrait to Thomas Rivers (3rd) was
commissioned to commemorate his
services to horticulture. There were
many subscribers towards the portrait, including Charles Darwin whom Rivers
had corresponded with in relation to Darwin’s work on botany. It was
presented to the Lindley Library and now hangs in the Council Room of the
Royal Horticultural Society. |
|
1877 |
Thomas Rivers (3rd) died. |
| British Empire at its greatest
extent |
1877 |
Thomas Francis Rivers (1831-1899) succeeded as head of the
company, having managed the business since 1872. He was one of the original holders of the Victoria Medal of
Honour from the Royal Horticultural Society in 1897. He also received the
first Dr. Hogg Memorial Medal, also awarded by the RHS in 1898. A year later, he received the Veitch
Memorial Medal. |
 |
T.F.Rivers. |
|
|
1888
development of
the Conference Pear
|
The Conference Pear, developed by Thomas Francis Rivers,
was named when he was chairman of the International Fruit Conference. The
water-colours painted by T. F. Rivers’ eldest daughter, May, were intended to
help classify fruit. During his care
of the nursery it grew to 360 acres and employed over 100 people. The nursery site extended from the London
Road to the turning in High Wych for the Manor of Groves. |
|
1899 |
Thomas Alfred H. Rivers (1863-1915) and Henry Somers
Rivers (1872-1935), sons of T. F. Rivers, begin to conduct the Sawbridgeworth
business after the death of their father. T. A. Rivers had a period of ‘pomological experience’ in the western
states of America (Colorado in particular). The business was at this time especially noted for the productions of
pedigree peaches and pears. |
| World War I |
|
The old houses with estate gardens began to disappear.
Rivers Nursery had to adapt as small gardens were not suited to
fruit trees. A lot of ground had to be cleared for
food growing during the period of the war. |
| Windsors |
1915 |
T. A. Rivers died. Maynard D. Rivers (known as Peter), after training at Wisley and in
France, joined H. S. Rivers and became Managing Director in 1935 |
| World War II |
1948
|
Thomas Hall Rivers (1901 - 1978) took over from M. D.
Rivers, who had emigrated to South Africa, and T. H. Rivers continued as
Chairman and managing director until his death. He became a member of the advisory committee of the National
Fruit Trials and used the water-colours painted by Thomas Francis Rivers and
his eldest daughter, May, to help classify fruit at national level. |
 |
Local
girls
working at
Rivers.
1942 |
|
|
|
Half of the land had to be devoted to food crops during
the war and heating was restricted so that most of the citrus fruit was
lost. Mechanisation and weed-killers
being used in the industry brought about important changes. Research work
became the province of stations like East Malling and Long Ashton
(Bristol). Rivers Nursery was one of
the founder members of East Malling and continued to take advantage of
scientific discoveries, replacing fruit stocks with new virus free types as
they became available. Research and
science became the province of specialists. |
| Modern times |
1970 |
Faced with competition in the local area, T. H. Rivers and
his son-in-law, Francis Peeters, opened a Garden Centre. |
|
1978 |
Margaret Rivers Peeters, daughter of T. H. Rivers, became
managing director of the company when her father died. |
|
1985
the end of the
Rivers Nursery
|
Margaret Peeters, Chairperson of the Rivers Nursery, with
15 family shareholders, made the decision to stop trading after 265 years of
the nursery business. The land was sold to the Community Hospitals Group in
1990. |
|
1992 |
The Thomas Rivers Medical Center opened on the land where
the nursery had been sited
See collected archive materials, held in Church
House, Sawbridgeworth for detailed information and images.
|
|
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Early
Rivers cherry
painted by
May Rivers. |
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