Peter Scott Gallery Exhibition - REGINALD FARRER

An exhibition celebrating the life of the plant explorer, botanist and author, Reginald Farrer (1880 – 1920) will be on display at the Peter Scott Gallery in the Irene Manton Room from 26 April until 2 June 2004.

Reginald Farrer, who has been termed ‘the father of rock gardening’, introduced many new plants into cultivation in Britain from his Far Eastern expeditions. Born in 1880, Farrer’s home was Ingleborough Hall in Clapham, Yorkshire. As a child he had a passionate interest in plants and would explore the limestone hills around the local area. Farrer attended Balliol College in Oxford. During his student years, he helped to build a rock garden in St. John’s College, and to develop the Ingleborough Hall rock garden on his visits home.

His early love of plants lead him to undertake his later journeys into the mountains of Europe and Asia. During his lifetime he travelled to the Alps, Japan, Korea, Canada, Ceylon and China, where he collected many plant specimens.

As well as being an intrepid plant-hunter, Farrer was a talented writer and painter. He produced twenty-one books as well as countless articles and letters from his expeditions. In 1907 he published the popular and influential book My Rock Garden. His other publications include, Alpines and Bog Plants (1908), In a Yorkshire Garden (1909), Among the Hills (1910) and The Dolomites: King Laurin's Garden (1913).

This exhibition will show a selection of Farrer’s botanical illustrations, photographs from his expeditions, books, letters and other archive material, and has been organised in association with the Heritage Trust for the North West.

The Peter Scott Gallery is open during exhibitions Monday to Friday, 11am until 4pm, and late Thursday evenings, 6pm until 8.30pm. Admission is free of charge. Please telephone 01524 593057 for further details.