Editing W. E. Shewell-Cooper

{{Short description|British gardener}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = W. E. Shewell-Cooper
| image              = W. E. Shewell-Cooper.png
| caption             = Shewell-Cooper and his wife in 1964 with his [[Order of Agricultural Merit]] award
| birth_name         = Wilfred Edward Shewell-Cooper
| birth_date         = 15 September 1900
| birth_place        = 
| death_date         = 21 February 1982
| death_place        = 
| occupation         = Gardener
| spouse             = {{Marriage| Irene Ramsey Pennicott|1925}}<ref name="Who's Who">{{cite book |date=1968 |title=Who's Who 1968-1969 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mK4KawdOUDMC  |publisher=A. & C. Black |page=2789}}</ref>
}}

'''Wilfred Edward Shewell-Cooper''' {{post-nominals|country=GBR|MBE|NDH|FLS|FRSL|FRHS}} (15 September 1900 – 21 February 1982)<ref>''England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007''</ref> was a British [[organic gardener]] and pioneer of [[no-dig gardening]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Lacey |first=Roy |date= 1988|title=Organic Gardening |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jCpIAAAAYAAJ |publisher=David & Charles |page=53 |isbn=978-0715391754}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Uglow  |first=Jenny|date=2012 |title=A Little History of British Gardening|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fQhIPLiRQYgC |publisher=Random House |page=282 |isbn=978-1448104963}}</ref> He wrote and published many books, including ''Soil, Humus and Health'' (1975), ''The Royal Gardeners'' (1952), ''Grow Your Own Food Supply'' (1939), and ''The ABC of Vegetable Gardening'' (1937). In 1966, he founded the Good Gardeners Association.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.landscapejuice.com/2010/10/the-good-gardeners-association.html|title=The Good Gardeners' Association|website=Landscape Juice|access-date=2020-04-24}}</ref> For many years, his gardens at [[Arkley]] Manor were open to the public, allowing the results of his no-dig methods, indicated by a symbol featuring a robin resting on a spade handle, to be seen first-hand.

== Childhood and education ==

Shewell-Cooper was born in [[Waltham Abbey]], Essex in 1900.<ref>{{cite book |date=1982 |title=Two-in-one Special Edition of the International Authors and Writers Who's Who, International Who's Who in Poetry |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0iI4AAAAIAAJ  |publisher=International Biographical Centre |page=593}}</ref> His father, E. Shewell-Cooper,<ref>His father later became Colonel; his brothers were His Honor Judge F. Shewell-Cooper and H. Shewell-Cooper; ''Town & City Gardening'', p. iv</ref> was a major in the [[Royal Artillery]] and was also the assistant superintendent of the gunpowder factory in [[Waltham Abbey]]. From there, the family moved to [[Blackheath, London]], and then to [[Penarth]], Wales. Before the outbreak of [[World War&nbsp;I]], the family set sail on the ''Galaka'' for [[South Africa]], where they lived in [[Rondebosch]], now a suburb of Cape Town. While there, he went to school at [[Diocesan College]].<ref name="Who's Who"/> When he returned to England, he attended [[Monkton Combe School]] just outside [[Bath, Somerset|Bath]].

== Family and career ==

Shewell-Cooper married Irene Ramsey Pennicott in 1925.<ref name="Who's Who"/> He was a prolific author of gardening books and together they wrote a cookery book called ''Cook What You Grow'' (1940).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp136343/irene-ramsay-shewell-cooper-nee-pennicott|title=Irene Ramsay Shewell-Cooper (née Pennicott) - National Portrait Gallery|website=www.npg.org.uk|language=en|access-date=2020-04-21}}</ref> They had two sons, Ramsay and Jeremy.

Over the course of his life, Shewell-Cooper held a number of positions, some of which are listed below:

* Command Horticultural Officer, S.E. and Eastern Commands (1940–1948)
* Principal of the Thaxted Horticultural College (1950–1960)<ref name="Desmond 1994">{{cite book |last= Desmond|first=Ray |date=1994|title= Dictionary Of British And Irish Botantists And Horticulturalists Including Plant Collectors, Flower Painters and Garden Designers |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=thmPzIltAV8C |publisher=Taylor & Francis |page=624 |isbn=0-85066-843-3}}</ref>
* Fellow of the Horticultural Society of Vienna (1952)<ref name="Who's Who"/>
* Director of the Horticultural Educational and Advisory Bureau (1960)<ref name="Desmond 1994"/>
* Hon. Superintendent of the [[Swanley Horticultural College]]
* Horticultural advisor to the Warwickshire and Cheshire County Councils (1928)<ref name="Who's Who"/>
* Hon. Treasurer of the Westbank House, Hextable (1937–1938)
* Garden editor of the [[BBC North]] Region

In 1964, Shewell-Cooper was appointed a Commander of the [[Order of Agricultural Merit]] by the French Government and given an award.<ref name="Award">{{cite news|url=https://www.findmypast.co.uk/image-viewer?issue=BL%2F0002018%2F19640222&page=14 |title=French Honour|newspaper=Eastbourne Herald Chronicle |date=February 22, 1964|page=14}} {{subscription required}}</ref> The honour is the highest to be given by the French Government to a horticulturist.<ref name="Award"/>

== Arkley Manor ==
In 1960, [[John Laing (businessman)|Sir John Laing]] suggested that Shewell-Cooper move to [[Arkley]] Manor; this was his home until his death in 1982.

==Legacy==

Ramsay Shewell-Cooper, who died in 2016, continued to promote his father's no-dig gardening approach and, as of 2008, a demonstration plot was to be seen at [[Capel Manor College]] in Enfield, in conjunction with the Good Gardeners' Association.

== Bibliography ==
Shewell-Cooper's published works include: 
{|
|valign="top"|
* ''The ABC of Vegetable Gardening'' (1937)
* ''The ABC of Fruit Growing'' (1938)
* ''Grow Your Own Food Supply'' (1939)
* ''Cook What You Grow'' (1940) with Irene Shewell-Cooper
* ''The Amateur Greenhouse'' (1940)
* ''The Royal Gardeners'' (1952)
* ''The ABC of Gardening''
* ''The ABC of the Greenhouse''
* ''The ABC of Flower Growing''
* ''The ABC of Garden Pests and Diseases''
|valign="top"|
* ''The ABC of Cloche Gardening''
* ''The ABC of Flowering Shrubs'' (1953)
* ''The ABC of the Rock Garden and Pool''
* ''The ABC of Bulbs and Corms''
* ''The ABC of Soils, Humus and Health'' (1959)
* ''The Book of the Tomato'''' (1948)
* ''Herbs, Salads and Tomatoes'' (1961)
* ''Town and City Gardening'' (1964)
* ''Cut Flowers for the House'' (1970)
* ''Compost Gardening (1972)
* ''Soil Humus & Health'' (1975)
* ''The Compost Fruit Grower'' (1975)
* ''The Compost Flower Grower''
|valign="top"|
* ''Basic Book of Flower Gardening'' (1976)
* ''God Planted a Garden: Horticulture in the Bible'' (1977)
* ''Guide to Salads and Herbs''
* ''Guide to Soil, Humus and Manuring''
* ''Guide to Roses''
* ''Guide to Dahlias''
* ''Guide to Tomatoes''
* ''Guide to Pruning Fruit Trees and Shrubs''
* ''Guide to Carnations''
* ''The Gardener's Diary''
* ''Plants, Flowers and Herbs of the Bible'' (1989)
|}

==See also==
*[[Organic gardening]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

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[[Category:1900 births]]
[[Category:1982 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century British botanists]]
[[Category:Alumni of Diocesan College, Cape Town]]
[[Category:British garden writers]]
[[Category:Commanders of the Order of Agricultural Merit]]
[[Category:English gardeners]]
[[Category:Members of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:Organic gardeners]]
[[Category:People educated at Monkton Combe School]]
[[Category:People from Waltham Abbey, Essex]]