William Lucombe
William Lucombe (before 1720 – after 1785) was a
The Lucombe nursery
William Lucombe began his horticultural career as Head Gardener in the service of merchant Thomas Ball at Mamhead Park in Devon circa 1720. It was while working at Mamhead that he founded his nursery, the first commercial plant nursery in South West England,[3] marketing many of the plants collected by Ball during the latter's commercial travels abroad, most famously the Holm Oak.[4] Lucombe bred his eponymous oak at the nursery he founded in 1720 in St Thomas, Exeter. In 1794, his son John Lucombe took possession of the nursery on Alphington Road, later known as the Exeter Nursery. In 1801, Benjamin Pince became a partner in the business, and by 1807 the nursery enterprise was trading as 'John Lucombe, Pince & Co'. At this time they bought the adjoining nursery of William Ford and Son on Alphington Street. In 1824, John Lucombe sold the business to Captain Robert Pince for £1500. The nursery flourished under his son Robert Taylor Pince, but began to decline in the late 19th century, and the site was sold to the city of Exeter in 1912. Part of the land became Pince's Gardens, a public park, part allotments and the remainder housing.[5]
Lucombe Oaks
The
One of the early Lucombe Oaks went to
Lucombe felled the original hybrid in 1785, keeping timber from it from which his coffin was to be made when he died. He stored the boards under his bed. However, he lived, for the age, an exceptionally long life, dying at the age of 102 years. By that time the planks had decayed in the Devon dampness. Instead, on his death, timber from one of his early graft propagations was used to make his coffin.
http://www.oaksofchevithornebarton.com/detail.cfm/plant_id/1623
External links
- Pinces Gardens [2]
- RBGkew.org: Lucombe Oak at Kew Gardens
References
- ^ Bean's Trees and Shrubs - Beanstreesandshrubs.org: Quercus × hispanica Lam.
- ^ Landscape architect's pages - Davisla.wordpress.com: Quercus x hispanica ‘Lucombeana’
- ^ Harvey, J. (1975). Early Nurserymen. Phillimore, Chichester, UK.
- ISBN 978-0571134052
- ^ Wood, T. (2013). The Beginning and the End of Lucombe, Pince & Co.
- ^ "About Kew's Arboretum". kew.org. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
- ^ Kew Gardens Important Trees: the Lucombe Oak
- ISBN 978-1842464526