Suttons Seeds is a long established supplier of
seedA seed , referred to as a kernel in some plants, is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
s,
bulbA bulb is an underground vertical shoot that has modified leaves that are used as food storage organs by a dormant plant....
s, and other
horticultural productsHorticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation. Some would say that horticulture is the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant...
. Today based in
EnglishEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
town of
PaigntonPaignton is a coastal town in Devon in England. Together with Torquay and Brixham it forms the unitary authority of Torbay which was created in 1998. The Torbay area is a holiday destination known as the English Riviera. Paignton's population in the United Kingdom Census of 2001 was 48,251.It has...
, the company supplies its products worldwide, and is part of the Vilmorin Clause & Compagnie group of companies.
Suttons Seeds were founded in the
BerkshireBerkshire is a county in the South East of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1958, and Letters...
town of
ReadingReading is a large town in England, located at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London...
in 1806 by John Sutton (1777-1863). Originally the company traded as corn merchants and were known as the 'House of Sutton'.
Suttons Seeds is a long established supplier of
seedA seed , referred to as a kernel in some plants, is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
s,
bulbA bulb is an underground vertical shoot that has modified leaves that are used as food storage organs by a dormant plant....
s, and other
horticultural productsHorticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation. Some would say that horticulture is the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant...
. Today based in
EnglishEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
town of
PaigntonPaignton is a coastal town in Devon in England. Together with Torquay and Brixham it forms the unitary authority of Torbay which was created in 1998. The Torbay area is a holiday destination known as the English Riviera. Paignton's population in the United Kingdom Census of 2001 was 48,251.It has...
, the company supplies its products worldwide, and is part of the Vilmorin Clause & Compagnie group of companies.
History
Suttons Seeds were founded in the
BerkshireBerkshire is a county in the South East of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1958, and Letters...
town of
ReadingReading is a large town in England, located at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London...
in 1806 by John Sutton (1777-1863). Originally the company traded as corn merchants and were known as the 'House of Sutton'. In 1832 John Sutton was joined in the business by his sons, Martin Hope (1815-1901) and Alfred. In 1837 the business moved to Reading's Market Place, where the sons persuaded their father to expand into the flower and vegetable seed trade. From this time on the firm progressed and expanded rapidly, earning a reputation for supplying pure, unadulterated seed.
The Market Place shop occupied a prominent position overlooking the Saturday vegetable and general market. Martin Hope acquired nursery grounds in Queens Road along with a greenhouse. By mid-1838 he began selling greenhouse plants, many of the bulbs coming from local nurseries, but some from
HollandRotterdam
The Hague
Haarlem
Dordrecht |} Holland is a name in common usage given to a region in the western part of the Netherlands. The name 'Holland' is also often informally used to refer to the whole of the country of the Netherlands...
. In 1836 Martin Hope, aged 21 years, became a partner and the 'House of Sutton' became Sutton & Son.
Suttons established their own laboratory to test seeds for germination and purity in 1840. In the same year, the company became one of the first to take advantage of the opening of the
Great Western RailwayThe Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835, and ran its first trains three years later...
through Reading. The railway was responsible both for bringing in large consignments of seeds and bulbs, and for carrying outgoing mail orders to all parts of the country.
Suttons received royal patronage in 1858, when
Queen VictoriaVictoria was the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837, and the first Empress of India of the British Raj from 1 May 1876, until her death...
requested Martin Hope Sutton to supply seeds to the royal household. Suttons Seeds have held a
Royal WarrantRoyal Warrants of Appointment have been issued for centuries to those who supply goods or services to a royal court or certain royal personages. The warrant enables the supplier to advertise the fact that they supply to the royal family, so lending prestige to the supplier...
ever since, and are currently suppliers to
Queen ElizabethElizabeth II is the queen regnant of sixteen independent states known informally as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines,...
.
In 1873, extensive new offices and warehouses replaced the original premises, albeit still fronting Market Place. These occupied a considerable part of central Reading, stretching back apremises included offices, different store rooms for various seeds and bulbs, an exhibition department, stables and even a works fire station. During the 1880s the company funded a Mission Room in Albert Road Reading and presumably employed a Mission Woman, Susan Warwick. (Census 1881)
In 1911, the company donated money towards the setting up of a new hall at the then University College Reading (later to become the
University of ReadingThe University of Reading is a red-brick university in the English town of Reading, Berkshire. Established in 1892, receiving its Royal Charter in 1926, the University has a long tradition of research, education and training at a local, national and international level. It was awarded the Queen's...
), providing half the funds for Wessex Hall (Brown, 2006).
In 1962, Suttons moved again to new show grounds and premises on the then main A4 road just to the east of Reading. In 1965, Suttons were the first company to offer foil packets to the amateur gardener in the UK. The company relocated from Reading to
TorquayTorquay is a town in the unitary authority area of Torbay and ceremonial county of Devon, England. It lies miles south of Exeter along the A380 on the north of Torbay, north-east of Plymouth and adjoins the neighbouring town of Paignton on the west of the bay. Torquay’s population of 63,998...
in the county of
DevonDevon is a large county in England. The county is also referred to as Devonshire, although that is an unofficial name, rarely used inside of the county itself and often indicating a traditional or historical context. The county shares borders with Cornwall to the west and Dorset and Somerset to...
1976 and in 1998 moved again to brand new premises in the nearby town of
PaigntonPaignton is a coastal town in Devon in England. Together with Torquay and Brixham it forms the unitary authority of Torbay which was created in 1998. The Torbay area is a holiday destination known as the English Riviera. Paignton's population in the United Kingdom Census of 2001 was 48,251.It has...
.
One of the Sutton Descendants - Emilie May Sutton married Frederick Chater-Jack who was
Spike MilliganTerence Alan Patrick Seán Milligan KBE , known as Spike Milligan, was an Irish comedian, writer, musician, poet and playwright. Milligan was the co-creator and the principal writer of The Goon Show, in which he also performed. Aside from his well-known comedy and poetry, Milligan did some painting...
's commanding officer when he served in the
Royal ArtilleryThe Royal Artillery is the common name for the Royal Regiment of Artillery, an arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...
during World War Two.