Century-old photographs of Gloucestershire arboretum found

A collection of 100-year-old photographs which shed light on a tree garden’s forgotten history has been discovered.

Taken by James Gardner when he was in charge at Batsford Arboretum in Gloucestershire from 1910 to 1912, the pictures show the planting schemes and layouts he used, the Royal Horticultural Society stated.

The images were found by Mr Gardner’s granddaughter Frances Toovey, who looked through his personal effects after reading an article about the arboretum in horticulture magazine The Garden.

She discovered more than 50 reproductions, as well as letters and records of his trips to bring back bamboo from the Himalayas.

All of his original plants at the arboretum had been lost, so the discoveries allowed current staff to fill in the gaps in its history.

The original bamboo plantings could now be included as part of a £2 million re-development programme at Batsford.

Originally owned by the Freeman family in the 17th century, Batsford Arboretum was raised to a site of international standing by Frederick Anthony Hamilton in the 1960s