Fanny Rollo Wilkinson was the first professional female landscape designer in Britain. Designed many of London's open spaces.
Born Manchester. By the end of 1883 she had completed an 18-month course at the Crystal Palace School of Landscape Gardening and Practical Horticulture, the only woman on the course.
In 1884 she was elected as honorary gardener to the Metropolitan Public Gardens Association and two years later this was changed to a professional position for which she was paid a fee. Gardens that she planned and that were laid out under her supervision include: Goldsmith’s Square, Hackney; Myatt’s Fields Park, Camberwell; Paddington Street Gardens; Meath Gardens; churchyard of St John, Smith Square, Westminster; Red Lion Square (1885); Red Cross Garden (1887); the area north of All Saints church Poplar (1893); The New Hospital for Women, Euston Road surrounding grounds and garden courtyard (1900).
In 1887 she was also working as a landscape designer to the Kyrle Society and through this she was commissioned to design Vauxhall Park, on land previously occupied by Millicent Fawcett and her family. Wilkinson and Millicent Fawcett's family became good friends, to the extent that Fanny's sister Louisa married Millicent's brother.
Through the Kyrle Society she also converted into public gardens the Bloomsbury burial grounds, now St George's Gardens.
Wilkinson became the first female Principal of Swanley Horticultural College (1902). She co-founded the Women’s Agricultural and Horticultural International Union (1899).
She was with the MPGA for 20 years. All in all Wilkinson laid out over 75 public gardens, many in London, and, we were delighted to see that !
At this image is captioned: "A photograph of Fanny Wilkinson in 1935 © Kenneth Northover."
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