Where the bluebells bloom, happiness follows

Bluebell Walks 2024 

Greetings from Betley Court where a wild and rainy March has morphed into an equally wild and rainy April, with Storm Kathleen currently barrelling over the UK. No doubt the weather will improve in time for our upcoming Bluebell Walks on 27 & 28th April 2024. We’ll be opening up the gates from 2-5pm that weekend, when the bluebells should be at their peak display. We’ll be in the visitors’ hub and be on hand to talk about the gardens, and the rebuild of Betley Court after the fire in 2019. Do join Nigel and myself for a hot drink after your walk. 

Tickets and more details are available on our website: 

Events (betleycourtgardens.co.uk)

£5 pp (+booking fee), children under 15 free. 

Tickets will also be available on the gate on the day. 

The Work of the Flower Room 

Daffodils by the lawn (photo credit; Su Hurrell/Ladybird Su)

Our last open gardens in March at the height of the daffodil season went very well, and it was lovely to talk with such a mix of people. Thank you to all that came. 

Tour group on the lawn (photo credit: Su Hurrell/Ladybird Su)

One conversation during the open garden weekend centred around the roll of gardeners in ‘big houses’ in the everyday lives of the household. In their heyday, the gardens enjoyed the care of around eighteen gardeners, producing flowers and produce for the house. We’d pointed out the old flower room to the tour group, an extension to the 1870 wing, and joked about the extravagance of dedicating an entire room solely to the preparation of flowers for the house. “No good house should be without a flower room!”, Nigel jested. 

The wing built in 1870 by Thomas Fletcher Twemlow (photo credit: Nigel Brown)

The flower room, about 6 feet wide, with a sink under the window, according to a plan from the 1930s (photo credit: Nigel Brown)

Plan of the flower room c.1930, showing the sink and counter under the window and a heating stove (taken from Godfrey N Brown's "This Old House")

Most likely, this room was added by Thomas Fletcher Twemlow (TFT) during his improvements to Betley Court during the late 19th century. These improvements included expanding the walled gardens, installing steam-heated glass houses, a refrigeration room, and large-paned windows to the south and east elevations. Readers who live in Betley will, no doubt have seen the initials ‘TFT’ on various cottages around the village. They were all at one time part of the Betley Court Estate, and also part of TFT’s improvements around the Betley Court estate. March 30th 2024 marked the 130th anniversary of Thomas Fletcher Twemlow’s death, and I found a tribute to him in the British Newspaper Archive online*. 

Alongside the customary tributes from worthy people in public life, there were some interesting details about the role of flowers in the funeral service, that had been provided by the staff at the house. Thomas’ funeral was held at St Margeret’s Church. The funeral procession left from Betley Court, and this excerpt from the Staffordshire Advertiser (7 April 1894) paints a picture of a village’s grief. 

The coffin, which enclosed a leaden shell, was of English oak, polished, and fitted with brass furniture. On the of brass, and the name-plate was inscribed top was a cross

“Thomas Fletcher Twemlow, born 25th ‘August, 1816, died 30th March, 1394, To God's loving care we commit his body to the grave.”

Upon the top lay a magnificent cross 5ft. long, composed of arum lilies and other choice flowers with a setting of ferns. It was the tribute of Mrs, Twemlow, and the materials were from the conservatories of Betley Court. Hanging on the sides of the coffin were wreaths from the workmen, household servants, and gardeners of the Court and the tradesmen having dealings there. The mournful procession wended its way to the Parish Church, the houses of the village having blinds drawn out of respect to the memory of the deceased.

 

As the body was borne along the churchyard-path villagers stood on each side of the walk, the men uncovered. The Bishop of Shrewsbury read the opening sentences of the Burial Service as the church was approached and as the funeral party was ushered to their seats a funeral march by Dr. Farrell was played by the organist. The church was filled to its utmost capacity. It wore its usual air of unadorned simplicity, but for the flowers upon and around the coffin as it stood at the entrance to the chancel, and the wreaths arranged at the communion rails stood out prominently....

 

The vault under the North aisle of the church, and the entrance walls were covered with greenery in whuch arum lilies, some in the form of a cross, azeleas, marguerites and other white blossoms.” 

Its touching to think of the staff carefully choosing and preparing flowers that had been grown at Betley Court for TFT’s final journey. It really speaks of times gone by.

Look forward to seeing some you during our Bluebell Walk! 

All best wishes Ladybird Su 

[1] Staffordshire Advertiser, 7/4/1894, accessed via British Newspaper Archives, https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/

*These records are fascinating, particularly if, like me, you have a specific area of interest such as a ‘big house’ like Betley Court. The records consist of photographs of newspaper pages, replicating the smudgy, pressed typeset copy of days gone by. The pages are hard to read, and, in the days before soundbite TV rolling news broadcast, are incredibly descriptive and wordy. A facility to read article transcripts in a modern, legible font (produced by AI) runs alongside, but often contains so many errors, reading becomes comical. Readers are invited to edit and save articles for the improvement of the archive, but it is a task that requires a lot of patience!!