Obituaries Edward Clive

Obituaries

- Edward Clive

In recent months Queenswood Arboretum has lost two longstanding and exceptionally knowledgeable advisers in David Davenport and Lawrence Banks. Both gave freely of their time and expertise and made very significant contributions to the arboretum.

David Davenport

David Davenport CBE DL, who died in June aged 87, was the owner of the Foxley Estate, only a few miles to the south west of Queenswood and famous as a birthplace of the picturesque movement in landscaping. After a first career in the Grenadier Guards, David took over the estate, continuing and improving its tradition of producing very high quality timber. His experience as a forester led to him being President of the Royal Forestry Society in 1989-91 and later a recipient of its gold medal. He was an advocate of high pruning to improve tree quality and he became UK agent for Silky Saws, known as Silky Fox in this country, after the name of his estate.

He was a trustee of the Queenwood Coronation Fund for 40 years and he made a huge contribution to the planting and management of the arboretum in that time. He was exceptionally tall, with a very gentle manner, and his advice was delivered in a characteristic soft voice that was none the less effective for that. We send our condolences to his widow, Lindy, and his three children. His son, James, is continuing the family involvement as a current trustee of the Coronation Fund.

Lawrence Banks

Lawrence Banks CBE DL, who also died in June, aged 84, was the owner of the renowned Hergest Croft gardens at Kington. He inherited from generations of plantsmen but with his wife Elizabeth, the renowned garden designer, he maintained and developed Hergest into one of the greatest woodland gardens in the country. He was a lifelong supporter of the Royal Horticultural Society and as its treasurer he drove major changes. He was a recipient of their Victoria Medal of Honour, the RHS’s highest award to horticultural experts and limited to as many members as the years of Queen Victoria’s reign. Lawrence was one of the most knowledgeable plantsmen of his time and he possessed a superb memory for trees. His wide friendship among tree enthusiasts globally, particularly as a key leader of the International Dendrology Society, was very helpful for Queenswood and led to its being one of the only IDS accredited arboreta in the UK. We send our condolences to his widow and two sons, who continue to run Hergest Croft.

Queenswood Arboretum (c) QWBL