Mr Cuthbert: “The Nation’s Gardener since 1797”

Ive always been surprised at how many great horticultural businesses just disappear almost without trace, I’ve already looked at the stories of two which did – Carters and Ryder Seeds – so a few moths ago thought I’d research Cuthbert’s who I remembered from my childhood. I thought I knew quite a lot but in fact it turns out I didn’t – and nor did Mr Google – and what information there was often turned out to be of dubious quality!

The story starts out simply but then quickly became very confusing so it has taken me many months to get it straight, but the process helped make me realise is how important it is to check your sources properly and cite them when you write anything…and luckily there are lots of nice pictures!

The images in this post unless otherwise acknowledged are courtesy of Lewisham Heritage. Full references at the end of the post.

The first surprise was there was very little about Cuthbert’s easily available on-line, especially given that they were a major player in the field. Indeed until recently there was only a short account of the company – officially R&G Cuthbert – in an article in The Independent by Michael Leapman dating from May 1997. There’s now another short article, behind a paywall in Horticulture Week, the successor to Gardener’s Chronicle from October 2025 which I can’t access even at the British Library because its too recent to have been catalogued properly.

Azalea “George Cuthbert”, from The Garden 26th May 1900

Leapman starts off by telling the story of James Cuthbert who : “In 1797…walked (or so the story goes) from his native Scotland to London to seek his fortune. He stopped a few miles short at Southgate, which is now a part of the Greater London sprawl, but was then a village surrounded by open fields. There he established a company that provided landscaping services and garden supplies for aristocrats, along with their other necessities such as servants’ livery, tea and gunpowder.” Unfortunately he doesn’t mention any sources and virtually all my searches for James were in vain. Leapman goes on to say that “James Cuthbert’s sons, Richard and George, are the “R and G” of the firm’s present name. They concentrated on growing plants and fruit, notably strawberries, for the market as well as for gardeners. Later generations of Cuthberts developed a trade in garden shrubs, becoming famous for camellias and azaleas.”

From Gardeners’ Chronicle 17th Aug 1901

So the first question was “is the story of James Cuthbert coming down from Scotland in 1797 true?” Unfortunately early censuses didn’t ask for a place of birth but James was 70 at the time of the 1841 census, and described as a nurseryman. He lived with his son George and daughter Maria. By the time of the next census in 1851 James has died and George has married Ann and was living at “The Nursery” on the High Street in Southgate. There are no children listed in either the 1861 or 1871 censuses but by the 1881 census when George and Ann are 64, in the next-door Nursery Cottage we meet George junior aged 41, his wife Ellen, 32 and their four children: George H, Richard J, Sidney and James.

undated photo courtesy Enfield Library and Archives

Southgate was then just a tiny village on the northern fringes of London, although it did have three large landed estates in the vicinity- Arno’s Grove, Grovelands and Southgate Hall. Cuthbert’s base was opposite Southgate House, on the south side of the village , while on the north side may have been the 6 or 7 acres of additional land owned by Cuthbert’s referred to in a later article in Gardeners Chronicle.

detail from OS 6″ map Middlesex Sheet VII.SW Published: 1897

from Gardeners’ Chronicle Aug 3rd 1901

Checking other available census data gave a bit more family background, including at least four different George Cuthberts. One of these Georges died in 19o1, aged 85 and was described as the last surviving son of the original James.

From Gardener’s Chronicle July 11th 1914 and Gardeners Chronicle July 18th 1914

Shortly afterwards I discovered a much lengthier tribute to a different George Cuthbert who died in July 1914. Apart from suggesting that the business was founded in 1797 [rather than 1787 as their adverts claimed] by Richard [rather than James] Cuthbert, it outlines his working career. Born in 1839 this George had worked for several leading horticultural establishments of the day before going to work with his uncle George in Southgate, who I assume is the George who died in 1901. He inherited the business on his uncle’s death [in the article said to be in 1903 but actually according to the burial registers 1901].

What’s interesting here is that we get an account of the career of the company’s founder Richard Cuthbert who is said to have worked at Hamilton Palace and then come south to work at the Earl of Bute’s Bedfordshire home Luton Hoo. So is this just confusion with James, or maybe there were two brothers who both took the high road to England? If anyone knows more please let me know.

Undated photo of staff, courtesy of Enfield Library and Archives

The firm seems to have remained quite small for most of its first hundred years or so and doesn’t really make much impact in the horticultural press until the 1890s. when reports begin to appear regularly of the firm exhibiting and winning prizes at flower shows . There is also a lengthy account of the nursery praising its shrubs, notably azaleas, in Gardeners Chronicle for 1st March 1902.

undated photo, courtesy of Enfield Library and Archives

The end of the Southgate nursery seems to have happened in the late 1920s, although I cannot find any evidence for why or exactly when this happened. Leapman says “In 1933 the Cuthberts’ nursery was bought by London Transport and Southgate underground station now stands on the site.” Unfortunately that’ doesn’t quite ring true.

Southgate station opened in 1933 and stands at the crossroads in the centre of town, and is several hundred metres from the main Cuthbert site so therefore no reason for it to be bought by London Transport. Nor has a search of London Transport archives turned up any evidence of a purchase of land from Cuthberts, although it is possible that the land was only rented so the nursery name would not necessarily show up on deeds.

Caldecot House

I suspect that Cuthbert’s may have closed or been bought out and moved to Goff’s Oak, a small village near Waltham Cross, somewhat earlier because by 1932 the company was already based there when it was bought by Clayton Russon, who Leapman describes as “a flamboyant marketing genius.” Their new HQ was probably rather posher than their Southgate home. It was Caldecot House which had previously been used as a home for disadvantaged children by the Caldecot Foundation. who moved to larger premises in 1931. The site has now been redeveloped completely for housing, although Cuthberts Close is one of the road names.

Glan-y-Mawddach

William Clayton Russon

Clayton Russon is an interesting character. Born in 1895 he spent most of his life in Merionethshire where he was heavily involved in both business and public life. His entry in Who’s Who shows he was the first president of the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod, Master of the Worshipful Company of Fruiterers and twice High Sheriff of Merioneth. He was knighted in 1958 for public service in Wales. He and his wife Gladys lived at Glan-y-Mawddach overlooking the estuary just outside Barmouth. They were accomplished gardeners, and the gardens there have been listed at Grade II*.

In 1934 Russon set up “The Horticultural and Botanical Association Ltd” and its deeds of incorporation say this was to purchase a business called Caldecott Nurseries, owned by none other than Gladys. That suggests that Cuthbert’s may just have been renting the nursery land at Goff’s Oak or perhaps more likely had already been bough out and renamed. Whatever the case the Russons quickly revived the Cuthbert name for their new enterprise.

I can’t find any more info about how/why Russon bought Cuthberts but he soon began the famous “Mr Cuthbert’s Weekly Garden Talk” which he wrote in the first person. These ran on the front page of The Times – often continued inside as well – right through from 1935 until the late 1960s, although you might have needed a magnifying glass to read them.

From The Times 18th January 1936

The example I’ve included above was chosen completely at random – but it shows Russon’s eye for a bargain, because tucked away in the middle of all those offers, hints, advice and competitions was a wonderful piece of showmanship which I just had to cut from the columns above and include separately …

I wonder where those stones ended up – go and check your rockery because maybe you have a piece of the Houses of Parliament hiding behind your aubretia!

All of the firm’s catalogues also have prominent messages from the non-existent “R.G.Cuthbert”.

At the time there were several other major rival seed companies notably Carter’s, Samuel Ryder, Dobies and Suttons as well as many smaller regional firms. All were developing mail order business alongside supplying direct to shops and nurserymen where most gardening produce was still being sold. However the years before the Second World War saw the rise of the high street chain stores, in particular Woolworths, which gradually dominated the domestic gardening market. [See this earlier post for more about Woolworths and gardening]

Cuthbert’s seeds arrived on Woolworth’s counters in 1937, selling for a standard tuppence a packet. They quickly became a challenge to another old established seed company Bees, founded by A .K. Bulley [whose initials gave it its name: AKB’s] who were Woolworth’s biggest supplier. Cuthbert’s seed packets were brighter, more colourful and attractive so along with Russon’s offer to provide a range of pre-packed bulbs and other horticultural products its not surprising that Cuthbert’s ran rings round Bees and took over from them as Woolworth’s main horticultural supplier, a partnership which last over 70 years.

Of course this was just before the outbreak of the war and so the seed side of the business wasn’t at Goff’s Oak for very long because Russon moved it to Llangollen in North Wales. Michael Leapman suggests this was because the Ministry of Agriculture was worried about having a major seed supplier so close to London during wartime although I can’t find any evidence support that view and certainly the offices and plant nursery seem to have stayed there at Caldecott House until the 1960s The next question is obviously why on earth Llangollen?

Upper Dee Mill that became one of Cuthberts packing centres.

It’s probably simply logistics. By 1938 the Russons appear to have also acquired a controlling interest in the successful agricultural seed merchants David Miln of Chester, about 20 miles away from Llangollen. In those days there was a direct railway line that connected Barmouth to Chester via Llangollen so it would have been easy for him to move [if slowly] between the three as well as get to London. That helps explain the comments made by Leslie Potts, an ex-employee interviewed by Llangollen Museum for their website . Apparently Russon was travelling home to Barmouth by train with his wife when they spotted an abandoned textile mill, got off the train, made enquires and eventually bought it. Despite the fact it was in a very poor state it had the potential to provide enough space for a large packing station for vegetable seeds as part of the “Dig for Victory” campaign to which the entire horticultural trade was instructed to promote. More large buildings were added when peace returned in 1945 and flower seeds were added to the range packed there.

Clay Jones

In 1957 Cuthbert’s was joined by Clay Jones who had previously been in charge of seed production for their rival Bees. Not only did he manage the seed business but he undertook training for staff in the new partnership with Woolworths which was Russon’s single most important commercial coup. It ensured nation-wide in-store availability of Cuthbert’s products, not just seeds but bulbs, live plants and horticultural sundries. Both companies were keen to make it a success and provide proper gardening advice for customers. The shop took on staff for its horticultural counters and Cuthbert’s provided them with the “Handbook for the Hortigirl” – a name for the horticultural counter assistants that unsurprisingly never really caught on..

The post-war era saw the British horticultural industry begin to collapse in the face of increasing costs and huge competition from Europe. At first Russon was able to ride this out and indeed take advantage of it. Cuthbert’s took over several smaller locally based nurseries and seed companies, including George Bunyard of Maidstone, Laxton’s, Fogwills of Guildford, and Dobie’s ‘The Dependable Seedsmen’, of Chester, gradually consolidating the industry.

The expansion continued into early 60s when they added Ryders, ruthlessly closing down its St Albans base and moving the admin section to Caldecott House and the actual seed packing business to Corwen 10 miles from Llangollen. What remained of Ryders was put under the charge of Clay Jones. Then in 1967 Russon bought Carters, once the largest seed company in the world, and again he was brutal. Their Raynes Park HQ and their nursery grounds were closed and the land sold for development. Although books continued to be produced under the Carters name, with “advice from the technical staff” their seeds were now listed in the Dobies catalogue, and Carters had become just another brand name based in Llangollen.

Initially Russon’s strategy was financially very successful. Strong order books were reported at Cuthbert’s AGMs almost every year through the 1960s, and continued even after Russon died in 1968. His wife took up the reins and continued increasing profits until 1970 when there was a prolonged postal strike and the mail order business simply stopped. Bulbs and onion sets etc rotted and had to be composted. It cost the company, a small fortune and the following year Lady Russon decided to step back. She sold 25% of the company to a subsidiary of Rothschild’s retaining just 15% for herself. She was made Sheriff of Merioneth in 1973 and lived on until 1994 when aged 99 she left a fortune of nearly £3m.

The new owners of Cuthberts were managers not gardeners and basically that was the end of the business. Profits began to fall sharply and in 1976 the Cuthbert group was bought by a Swedish company. As so often happens, the predator was themselves quickly the victim of predation, and Cuthberts alongside with its fellow once-famous brand names, was acquired by Vilmorin, the largest seed company in. France. Because of the ongoing link with Woolworths the Cuthbert brand name was kept going but Vilmorin had already acquired Sutton’s and moved them from their home in Reading to Paignton in Devon, and now Cuthberts and the others brands left Llangollen for Paignton as well.

But even the Woolworth link was was weakening. As Leapman writing in 1997 points out “The retail market has also changed, with a boom in garden centres and do-it-yourself chains with strong horticultural sections.” Even by then Woolworths was shutting smaller stores although he reports Woolworths’ gardening buyer, saying “It’s true that the market is changing, but I don’t foresee a time yet when we won’t be carrying seeds in Woolworths.” That may have been true in the short term because the Cuthbert brand-name remained on seed packets but there with a noticeable decline in interest in home vegetable growing, and with plug plants also on the market demand for seeds dropped sharply. And of course in the long run he was wrong because Woolies shut their shop doors in Britain for the last time in 2009.

Vilmorin’s ownership of Cuthbert’s and the others didn’t last long either. It too became the the victim of predation this time by Limagrain. That led to more assimilation and the ending of many historic brand names with R&G Cuthbert itself formally wound up as a company in 2018

So, sadly, I think it highly unlikely that Leapman’s hope that “one day Mr Cuthbert’s homilies about life, horticulture and rock-bottom prices may even come back into fashion” will happen any time soon!