Ravensworth Nurseries
Ravensworth Nurseries Ltd, (historically trading as Bradbrook & Hannah) was an English horticultural business and garden centre located in Ravensworth, North Yorkshire.
It supplied garden centres and retailers across the United Kingdom as well as its own on-site sales.[1]
History
[edit]Brothers-in-law Douglas Bradbrook and William Hannah established the business in 1966 and initially grew tomatoes and lettuces.[1]
Increased competition from the Common Market and rising heating costs necessitated a move into bedding plants and later pot plants such as poinsettias.[2] Ravensworth Nurseries became one of only two businesses to grow poinsettias commercially in the United Kingdom, producing around 18,000 plants in 2012.[3][4]
In 1996 they erected the world's largest hanging basket.[5] The basket weighed 5 long tons (5.1 tonnes), was 23 feet (7 metres) across and 9 feet (2.7 metres) high and contained 1,000 plants of one hundred different varieties.[5]
By 2006, the business had a £1.8 million annual turnover, six acres of glasshouses and employed around 35 people.[6] Since 2006 the business had used an eco-friendly woodchip burner to heat three of its glasshouses.[2]
The business announced its closure in 2023, blaming "the culmination of lockdown, rising bills, and the ongoing cost of living crisis".[7]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Finding alternative to oil after price rise cuts bill by 85pc". The Northern Echo. 1 December 2006. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
- ^ a b "Medal for eco-friendly nurseryman". The Northern Echo. 16 July 2008.
- ^ Douglas, Andrew (12 November 2012). "Ravensworth Nursery, near Richmond, preparing 12,000 Christmas poinsettias". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
- ^ "Gardener Sue Dale inspects poinsettia plants prior to their shipment from the Ravensworth nursery near Richmond, northern England". AlertNet (Reuters). 13 November 2012. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
- ^ a b "THIS WILL TAKE SOME WATERING". The Northern Echo. 17 June 1996. p. 1.
- ^ Bradbrook, Doug. "Seeds of success" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 September 2011. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
- ^ "Ravensworth Nurseries in Richmond announces sudden closure". The Northern Echo. 28 July 2023. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
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