Broadstone Horticultural Society – a brief history
Original records have been lost over time, but we believe that the Society was formed in 1905. The Poole and Dorset Herald reported that the first Show was held in 1906, in the Waterman fields in Broadstone. The Flower and Poultry Show was opened by Mr and Mrs Waterman who owned the location of the Show. The Waterman fields are still used for village events and are now within the Broadstone Conservation Area (see link below).
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https://www.poole.gov.uk/_resources/assets/attachment/full/0/49438.pdf
The inaugural Show included classes such as Professional Gardeners, Amateur Gardeners, Cottagers, Fruit and Flowers and Ladies only! One of the contributors to this first show was Alfred Russel Wallace, a famous Victorian naturalist, who collaborated with Charles Darwin on the ‘Theory of Evolution’. Wallace exhibited a South American air plant which would have been quite an exotic plant for 1906!
Apart from the War years and the two Covid years, the Summer Show has been held annually since 1906. The Shows are well attended, and the Mayor of Poole has presented the awards and prizes for many years. Several of the Society’s founding members and early committee members have donated trophies to be awarded at the Society’s shows. A Spring Show was first held in 1948 and ran annually until 2012.
Broadstone Horticultural Society became affiliated to the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) in 1947. This entitles the RHS Banksian Medal to be awarded to the person who gains the highest number of points in the Show. The first winner was Mrs Osman Brown in 1948.
Membership numbers of the Society have fluctuated over the years. Records from 1948 mention that the number of members was 430; in recent years we have stabilised at around 120 members.
A large part of the life of Broadstone Horticultural Society has been our monthly meetings. Most meetings comprise of a guest speaker (usually on a horticultural/natural world theme) a raffle, plant sale, refreshments and table competitions. Table competitions provide a chance to practise, discover techniques and tips for exhibiting at Shows. The member who gains the most points in the table competitions between September and May will be awarded with the Halestrap Memorial Rose Bowl to keep for a year. Visitors are always made welcome to meetings. We are proud of our friendly reputation and someone will always be on hand to provide hints or answer gardening questions. Our Annual General Meetings are now followed by a Gardeners’ Question Time panel who answer and solve all sorts of gardening queries.
We hold our meetings, and since 2010 our Summer Show, at the Broadstone War Memorial Hall. One of our past Presidents, Mr de Courcy Hughes, was also Chairman of the Broadstone War Memorial Fund. Records show that some of the funds raised at the 1946 Flower Show were donated towards the building of Broadstone War Memorial Hall.
Presidents:
1905 – 1909 Mr W. E. Waterman
1910 – 1968 Dr J. C. A. Norman
1969 – 1971 Mrs C. M. Blaker
1972 – 1985 Mrs D. Maginess
1986 – 1990 Mrs Olive Jackson
1990 – 2004 Mr Tom Davey
2004 – 2007 Mr Ivor Phillips
2007 – now Mr Robin Hill
Chairmen:
1946 Mr V. de Courcy Hughes
1951 Mr Cyril C. Carter (of Poole Pottery)
1970 Col. W. A. Hardy
1986 Mr Tom Davey
1996 Cllr. Les Burden
2015 Mr Brian Woolgar
2019 Mrs Yvonne Arnold
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Awards, Trophies, Cups
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Putnam Cup – donated by James Putnam.
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Awarded to the Society member whose family obtains the highest number of points in the Summer Show. (Husband/ wife/ children under 18)
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Felstead Cup
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Awarded to the best exhibit in the Vegetable and Fruit classes
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Osman Brown Memorial Cup
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Awarded to the best Floral Art exhibit.
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Maginess Cup
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Awarded to the best entry in the Photography classes
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Portman Cup
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Awarded for the most points in the Dahlia classes.
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Rita Atterton Cup - donated by the family of Rita Atterton
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Awarded to the Broadstone Horticultural Society member with the highest number of points in classes 64-70
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Young Cup
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Awarded for the most points in the Flower classes.
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