The Royal Jersey Agricultural & Horticultural Society Archive

Royal Jersey Agricultural & Horticultural Society Archive

Two centuries of Horticultural History now available on new Digital Archive

The Society has produced an Annual Report since 1833 and these invaluable records are now available online

Founding

The Royal Jersey Agricultural & Horticultural Society (RJA&HS) was founded in 1833, “to encourage improvements in its Agriculture and Horticulture, the breed of Cattle and to promote habits of industry and economy among the labouring classes”.

Still in existence 193 years later, the Society has produced an Annual Report virtually every year, and these invaluable records have recently been digitised on a new Digital Archive.

The work was supported by the Jersey Community Foundation and carried out by TownsWeb Archiving Ltd, to whom the Society extends its thanks. The Reports give a fascinating insight into agricultural and horticultural methods used in the Island, the history of the cultivation of the Jersey Royal potato and, of course, the development of the famous breed of Jersey cattle.

A key object of the Society today is to promote the Island’s rural culture, encourage the production of local produce and to protect the farmed countryside.

The Society is made up of two departments:

– The Agricultural Department represents the farming industry: It stages agricultural shows, provides a range of services to support the modern dairy industry and is responsible for the management of the Jersey breed of dairy cow in the Island.

– The Horticultural Department promotes amenity horticulture through shows and competitions, demonstrations and general advice as well as the provision of space for gardeners.

A few of the digitised bound Annual Reports, around 200 years old. Image courtesy of the Royal Jersey Agricultural & Horticultural Society.

Excerpt from 1910 Annual Report - Clay’s Fertiliser advert. Image courtesy of the Royal Jersey Agricultural & Horticultural Society.

Except from Annual Report 1896 – Langelier advert. Image courtesy of the Royal Jersey Agricultural & Horticultural Society.

Christine Vibert and Louise Agnes at the Royal Jersey Agricultural & Horticultural Society Library. Image courtesy of the RJA&HS.

Excerpt from 1902 Annual Report - Clay’s Fertiliser advert. Image courtesy of the Royal Jersey Agricultural & Horticultural Society

Horticultural Show, Archives and Exhibition

The first Horticultural show was held on May 14th 1834. Classes for flowers, vegetables and fruit became the norm with the lists giving an idea of the variety grown in the Island over time.

There were prizes for exotic produce such as lemons, guavas and pomegranates and separate classes for ‘Cottagers’, who were encouraged by prizes for “the neatest, cleanest and best conducted Cottage and Garden”. It is worth noting that, at today’s valuations, a 5/- (five shillings) prize in 1843 would today be the equivalent of £40 – and so well worth entering the competition!

There are many references over the years to weather, disease, use of fertilizers, and the education of young people into the industry. And at the same time as the Society was establishing itself, there were nurserymen setting up their businesses on fertile land around the edge of the town, St Helier. One of these was Bernard Saunders, originally from Devon who, as well as being a judge at the Horticultural Shows, successfully exhibited his produce in Jersey and in England, and René Langelier who exhibited his pears in London and Edinburgh.

In 1871 the Society held a Channel Island Exhibition which was described as “the greatest event in the social life of the Island in the nineteenth century” and was attended by 30,000 visitors “…to look on flowers of the richest hues and emitting the most delicate perfume….”

It is not until the 1890s that advertisements start to be published in the Reports, but these are also a valuable source of local information about all manner of businesses operating in Jersey.

The Digital Archive is freely available online at http://archive.royaljersey.co.uk

The Royal Jersey Agricultural & Horticultural Society Archive

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