Fulham’s Floral Paradise: Bishop Henry Compton’s Exotic Eden

On This Day
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast:

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July 7, 1713

On this day, dear readers, we bid farewell to Henry Compton, Bishop of London from 1675 to 1713.

While his role in English political and religious circles was indeed significant, it is his passion for plants - particularly the scarce and exotic - that captures our horticultural hearts.

Picture, if you will, the court of Charles II. Amidst the pomp and intrigue, we find our dear Henry, contentedly lingering on the fringes. Why, you ask?

The answer, my fellow garden enthusiasts, is delightfully simple: it afforded him more time to devote to his beloved plants and gardens!

Henry's closest confidant was none other than John Ray, one of England's earliest parson-naturalists.

It was Ray who gifted the world with the first account of North American flora in his Historia Plantarum (1688). One can only imagine the botanical discussions these two must have shared over cups of steaming tea!

Now, let us consider the fortuitous position our plant-loving bishop found himself in.

With his ecclesiastical duties extending to the American Colonies, Henry had a veritable botanical buffet at his fingertips. New World plant discoveries flowed into his eager hands like nectar from a blossom. He even dispatched his own botanical emissary, John Banister, to Virginia in search of horticultural treasures.

Alas, poor John! His quest for botanical wonders met a tragic end at the tender age of 38, when he fell from a cliff while exploring above the James River. Yet his legacy lives on in the Magnolia virginiana and Dodecatheon media he sent to our beloved bishop.

Henry's garden at Fulham Palace was a veritable wonder of its time. Can you imagine, dear readers, a garden boasting over 1,000 exotic plants and tropicals?

It was said to have a greater variety of plants than any other garden in England! Even William Penn's Pennsylvania gardener was eager to swap seeds and plants with our horticultural hero.

But Henry was not content with mere flowers and shrubs. Oh no! His arboreal collection was truly something to behold.

Picture, if you will, the first Liriodendron tulipifera (tulip tree), Liquidambar (American Sweetgum), Acacia, Mahogany, and Maple trees in England, all flourishing under Henry's care. Even the great Capability Brown found inspiration within these leafy bowers.

And let us not forget the Magnolia virginiana, sent by the Governor of Virginia himself in 1698 for Henry's "paradise at Fulham." What a sight it must have been!

Yet, our dear bishop was not without his moments of doubt. History whispers that Henry felt a twinge of guilt about the amount of church money he had invested in his botanical pursuits. But can we truly begrudge him his passion?

For it is through the efforts of such devoted plantsmen that our horticultural knowledge has flourished. Indeed, three centuries after Henry planted that first Magnolia virginiana at St. Anne's Church, a new sapling was placed in the exact same spot, a living tribute to his botanical legacy.

As we tend our own gardens this day, let us spare a thought for Henry Compton.

May we all cultivate our passions with such fervor, and may our own gardens be a paradise, if not of rare exotics, then of joy and wonder.

Bishop Henry Compton, Portrait by Godfrey Kneller (1712)
Bishop Henry Compton, Portrait by Godfrey Kneller (1712)

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