Welcome to our School History resource.

Here is an account from a recent newspaper article:-

Russian Empress' Lost Blooms Found!

A missing 18th Century botanical collection, bought from Britain by Catherine the Great has resurfaced.

A rare collection of botanical pictures by British artists has been discovered in St Petersburg more than 200 years after Catherine the Great bought it at auction.
The 611 drawings, worth more than £4 million, are part of a larger collection from the estate of John Fothergill, a physician, philanthropist and botanist.

The works were last seen in 1781 when the Empress of Russia bought them at Sotheby's as part of her private collection. What happened to them after that remained a mystery until correspondence between the Museum of Garden History in London and a botanical institute in Russia brought the drawings to light.
The pictures - watercolour on velum - were discovered in storage in 1987 by Tainara Tchernaja, the chief curator at the Komarov Botanical Institute, in St Petersburg. She recognised them as British but had no idea how they arrived in Russia. Then, two years ago, she received a letter
from the Museum of Garden History, which had been looking for the series for 10 years.
The result was a trip to St Petersburg by the museum's directors and representatives of Cardington, a company that works to bring historical, cultural assets into the public arena. It found the works in immaculate condition inside 14 dusty, leather portfolios.
Philip Norman, the assistant curator of the Museum of Garden History, said: ''We had been looking for more than 10 years. I knew the series was important all of the plants are beautifully drawn, by known artists of the time, and some of the specimens represented in those drawings are now extinct. But, over the decade, the trail had gone very cold at times."
The works had been commissioned by Dr Fothergill. who became one of the most eminent figures in botany during the 18th Century. He had begun collecting new species for their medical or nutritional value and initiated plant collecting throughout the world.
He had also created an extensive botanical garden at Upton House, Essex, now West Ham Park, east London, which became Britain's first alpine and wilderness garden.
The greenhouse and hothouses there were filled with 3,400 exotic species. The grounds were attended by 15 gardeners.
He then commissioned artists - including Georg D Ehret, John Abbot and John S Miller to depict the plants. It is this collection that has been recovered.
It is hoped that a sponsor can be found to bring it back to Britain for exhibition.
Simon Petherick, the chairman of Cardington, which helped in the search, said: "This is a rare and exciting find. It is hoped we can catalogue the works and exhibit them in Britain and America by early next year."