Borde Hill Estate and Garden Archive

The Garden was created in the early 1900s with plants gathered by the great plant collectors from their travels to the Himalayas, China, Burma, Tasmania and the Andes. The Garden is listed as of Grade II* importance by English Heritage on its register of Parks and Gardens. Borde Hill is considered to contains the best private collection of champion trees in Britain and holds a comprehensive collections of trees and shrubs.

The archiving process began in early 2020. The archive draws on the papers of Colonel Stephenson Robert Clarke (1862 – 1948) and his family. The Colonel’s horticultural correspondence, in which approximately 150 individuals have been identified so far, include letters from well-known plant hunters, amateur gentlemen (and lady) gardeners, nurserymen and horticultural society staff.

There are significant collections from the 1950’s to the present day and whilst the opportunity has not yet risen to study these in any detail, they are being listed at a general level so that Borde Hill staff can begin to use them.

The range of the archive material includes stationery boxes of correspondence, bound copy books of the Colonel’s replies, bound and loose cuttings and photographs, albums of photographs and sketches, and committee correspondence e.g. The Royal Horticultural Society. Over time there will be many Borde Hill stories that can be highlighted to reflect the history and development of the garden to visitors but the material will also provide practical information on the history of individual plants and propagation for today’s gardening team.

Material is being cleaned, rusting metal fixings removed and placed into appropriate archival storage in folders which allow easy and safe access. The collection areas and storage boxes are monitored for pests and mould. Vulnerable material when discovered is being digitised to provide access whilst protecting the originals.

An outline cataloguing hierarchy has been developed. Currently work is concentrated on the horticultural content but the cataloguing hierarchy has the structure to allow the other elements of the collection to be incorporated in future. This is an important step in making material searchable and accessible to researchers. Catalogue records are being produced alongside box lists and other resources to aid research and discovery.

For any enquiries relating to the archives or to view material please contact julia.foster@bordehill.co.uk