Waterperry Gardens

Oxfordshire is blessed with many stunning gardens, but the story of Waterperry, Beatrix Havergal’s old school for lady gardeners, gives it a unique appeal

- LAWRENCE ALEXANDER

Just outside Oxford, Waterperry Gardens looks like any other pretty garden open to the public. What it represents, however, is something very special. Begun as a teaching garden by pioneer Beatrix Havergal, it trained female gardeners at a time when men dominated the business, and those that trained here were women who wanted to garden as a living, instead of dabbling in horticulture as something nice to do before getting married.

Born in 1901, Beatrix and her partner Avice Sanders founded their women’s horticultural college in 1927, moving to Waterperry in 1932. The girls lived in the mansion, were waited on at tables and enjoyed musical evenings – but the work was hard, mornings were early and men were strictly forbidden. The last rule never worked out too well; there were far too many drainpipes and haylofts.