Mar 18, 20223 min read

Sutton Mandeville Flower Show

Updated: Jul 21

The quintessential English flower show is believed to have originated around the 17th /18th century, when florist societies of the period first staged competitions. The term 'florist feast' is found in records in 1630 and by the early 1800's reports of these events appeared in newspapers.

A 'florist' at that time was not, as now, a purveyor of cut flowers, but meant an amateur grower of flowers and especially someone engaged in the production of new varieties, by segregation and propagation of cuttings.

A group of highly variable plants became known as 'florist flowers' and the societies drew up stringent rules to assess the quality of these, initially coming up with eight 'traditional' categories for judging namely, tulips, carnations, pinks, auriculars, polyanthus, hyacinths, anemones and ranunculus.

The florist societies held their competitions at public houses and inns and later in town halls accompanied by a dinner, hence becoming known as 'florist feasts' at which utilitarian prizes would be awarded, such as high quality silverware and kitchen utensils.

Sutton Mandeville Horticultural Society

In the inaugural Sutton Mandeville Parish Council newsletter (1974) it was suggested that in the absence of any regular village activities, a flower and vegetable show could be a good idea.

The Sutton Mandeville Horticultural Society was subsequently formed in 1975 as a way of establishing a new community activity, the forming committee members were Mr Maskelyn (President), Mr Thompson (Chairman), Mr Matthews (Show Secretary), Mrs Partridge and Mrs Elwin.

first flower show 1975 at Church Farm — 1st Flower Show 1975

The first flower and vegetable show was held on Saturday 2 August 1975 at Church Farm, the home of Mr & Mrs Walter Partridge who offered their garden, and was attended by more than 300 people.

newspaper cutting relating to first flower show

There were nine classes for flowers, nine for vegetables and others for honey, jams, chutneys etc.

Miss Margaret Mullins agreed to let one of her late father's cups be presented as a Challenge Cup and was inscribed accordingly.

It was a very successful show and the event has been organised each Summer over many years at different locations in Sutton Mandeville and Fovant, with increasing numbers of exhibitors taking part.

Click on images to enlarge

A weekly produce stall was also set up in August 1975, opening every Saturday morning for society members to sell vegetable, fruit or eggs with a deduction of one penny from each sale to cover the costs of running, hosted by Mrs Elwin at Hardings Corner below Sutton Church.

In 1983 the first Spring Show was organised and both shows continued until a few years ago when the Spring Show was sadly dropped.

collection of images of 1998 spring show

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The Summer Show continued annually until the arrival of Covid, which forced cancellation of many public events (the last flower show being held in 2019). There were no shows in 2020-21.