Ralph Hancock (landscape gardener)
| Ralph Hancock F.R.H.S. | |
|---|---|
Ralph Hancock FRHS (circa 1936)
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| Born |
2 July 1893 Cardiff, Wales |
| Died | 30 August 1950 (aged 57) London, England |
| Occupation | landscape gardener |
Ralph Hancock (2 July 1893 – 30 August 1950) was a Welsh landscape gardener and author. Hancock built gardens in the UK in the 1920s, 30s and 40s and in the United States in the 1930s. A few are well known – the roof gardens at Derry and Toms in London and the Rockefeller Center in New York, the garden at Twyn-yr-Hydd House in Margam and the rock and water garden he built for Princess Victoria at Coppins, Iver, England.
Clarence Henry Ralph Hancock was born at 20 Keppoch Street, Cardiff, Wales on 2 July 1893. His father Clarence Hancock worked for a company known as Evans and Hancock who were Auctioneers and Estate Agents based at Borough Chambers, Wharton Street, Cardiff. In 1917 Ralph married Hilda Muriel Ellis (known as Muriel) and moved to Augusta Road, Penarth.
Their first son, Clarence Neville Bramley Hancock (Bramley), was born in 1918 and their second son, Denys, also born in Penarth in 1920. At this time Hancock's occupation was a Marine and General Insurance Broker working from James Street, Cardiff. However, in 1926 he had changed career, becoming a Fellow of the Royal Horticultural Society. He had been known to have an interest in horticulture, particularly orcids.
Hancock and his family moved to Downside Road, Sutton, Surrey, England and in 1928 a daughter, Sheila Muriel was born. It was from here in 1927 that Hancock undertook the first of his more famous garden projects, designing and constructing a rock and water garden for H.R.H Princess Victoria at her home 'Coppins' in Iver, Buckinghamshire. Hancock was reported to be extremely proud of the garden and HRH presented to him "a little diamond and sapphire tie pin" one of his most treasured possessions. The main influences of this period was William Robinson and Gertrude Jekyll and Ralph incorporated this "arts and crafts movement" into his designs.
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Wikipedia