Remembering British writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and his Love of Gardening

July 7, 1930

On this day, British writer and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle died.

The spring before he died, Arthur was bedridden.

However, one morning, he got up and went out to his garden.

Arthur loved being in his garden. He did most of his writing in the garden.

He once remarked,

What a lovely thing a rose is!

When Arthur left his bed that spring morning in 1930, his family found him lying on the ground, one hand clutching his heart and the other holding a single white snowdrop.

He languished until July 7, 1930, when he passed away with his family at his bedside.

His last words were to his wife.

He whispered,

You are wonderful.

After Arthur's death, newspaper accounts shared that he was buried in his garden next to his garden shed.

Arthur's garden hut was the place Arthur went to write his stories about one of the world's best-loved detectives: Sherlock Holmes.

Over 200 people attended Arthur's funeral, and so many wreaths arrived that they were spread over the large paddock west of the home. The flowers and wreaths covered over an acre of land with blooms.

Accounts of the funeral say that when Conan Arthur's coffin was placed in the grave, "Lady Doyle kissed a rose and threw it in."

Lady Jean Conan Doyle lived at Windlesham for another decade until her death on June 27, 1940.

She was buried next to her husband in the garden.