Spring flowers at Warley Place
In celebration of LGBTQ+ History Month, Essex Wildlife Trust is proud to honour Miss Ellen Willmott as a queer historical figure of our past. This guest blog is written by Emma, the Trust's Wilder Learning Lead for South Essex, as well as one of the co-chairs for the Out for Nature Network - The Wildlife Trusts’ LGBTQ+ staff network.
Ellen Ann Willmott
Ellen Willmott was one of the most significant female horticulturists of the 19th century, famed for her impressive and influential gardens at Warley Place, and her various methods of sabotage against her gardening rivals in later years.
Born in 1858, she had near-unlimited access to a lot of money throughout her life via her aunt, Countess Helen Tasker. With the inheritance from the Countess’ death in 1888, Ellen (alongside her father, mother, and sister) developed and built Warley to house an empire of horticultural wealth and secured high societal status for the Willmott name.
Seeds and plants from all over the globe had a place in the gardens, and Ellen was widely recognized for her creativity in planting and collecting new species. Her extensive funds were used to support plant-hunting expeditions, and in the end had grown over 100,000 different species of trees, shrubs, and plants. Several species are named after her, including Veronica prostrata ‘Warley Blue’, Potentilla nepalensis ‘Miss Willmott’, and Syringa vulgaris ‘Miss Ellen Willmott’. The garden gained royal interest and was visited by Queen Mary, Queen Alexandra, and Princess Victoria – putting it on the map as one of the most beautiful gardens in the country.
Spring flowers at Warley Place
Despite the successful start to her career, Ellen’s reputation was tainted in 1897 at the RHS Victoria Medal of Honour ceremony, which she was mysteriously absent from despite being nominated. In the 19th century, there were very few women allowed to be a part of the Royal Horticultural Society, and to snub the awards was Ellen’s downfall.
What has always been less well known, however, is why Ellen Willmott chose to avoid the awards ceremony in the first place. In 2019, local journalist and writer Sandra Lawrence was granted access to archival material and uncovered a series of intense love letters spanning the course of three years, between Ellen and a close companion, Miss Georgiana ‘Gian’ Tufnell. Gian and Ellen were romantically involved over the time period (as evidenced by the contents of the letters), but as lesbianism and queerness were not acknowledged in Victorian times, their relationship slipped under the radar. Unfortunately, with the relationship came heartbreak – just before the prestigious RHS awards ceremony, letters between the couple ended with Gian writing that she was to marry Lord Mount Stephen the day after the ceremony. Ellen, heartbroken, understandably fled to one of her French retreats, missing the Victoria Medal of Honour presentation, and was struck with rapidly declining health thereafter.
After the breakup, no-show event, and the shame that followed, she burnt away her inheritance, throwing everything into the garden and musical interests. Ellen became notorious for her grumpy attitude, seed-bombing rival gardens with Eryngium giganteum ‘Miss Willmott’s Ghost’, and rigging her own bulbs with trip wires. Nearly penniless, she died alone in 1934.
Warley Place was eventually sold on with the promise of a new housing estate, but ended up being demolished. It returned to the ground it was built upon, and has since been swallowed up by nature. Essex Wildlife Trust leased the site in 1977, and it is a popular nature reserve for seasonal walks. Thanks to Sandra’s research and recently published biography, ‘Miss Willmott’s Ghosts’, we can look back on Ellen Willmott’s achievements fondly, and with the additional pride that comes with knowing she was a part of Essex Wildlife Trust’s LGBTQ+ history too.
Warley Place has been featured on BBC Gardeners World, and is one of our stand-out nature reserves known for its stunning spring displays of snowdrops and daffodils. It is open all year round, but is currently undergoing important renovation works to preserve the features of the site, so some areas are closed with marked diversions. Why not pay a visit to the reserve and imagine the impressive grounds that were once Ellen Willmott’s horticultural paradise?
Miss Ellen Willmott's Ghost - Thursday 16 March 2023
You are invited to hear from Sandra Lawrence, author of Ellen Willmott's biography, as she shares the fruits of her research and offers fresh insights into the life of this fascinating woman.
Shenfield Parish Hall, all welcome, 8pm. Suggested donation of £3.
