Frank Thomson Remembered
We were sad to hear of the recent death of Frank Thomson, former Head Gardener at Stowe Gardens. A service of thanksgiving took place in Weston-Super-Mare on 4 December 2024 to remember Frank, who died on 3 November, aged 71.
Frank was recruited by Stowe School in 1980 and spent his early years at Stowe dealing with the impact of Dutch Elm disease. In the same year, Frank recruited Barry Smith, current Head Gardener at Stowe.
In the 1980s, gardening duties at Stowe consisted of maintaining the areas around school buildings such as the Orange Tree Garden and the Headmaster’s Garden. There were three greenhouses where 4,000 bedding plants were grown for use in the gardens, and crops of tomatoes and cucumbers were produced for the school kitchens.
Frank Thomson worked with the late George Clark to restore the Landscape Gardens, but their plans were frustrated by a lack of finance.
In 1989, the gardens became the responsibility of the National Trust and the School’s gardening team was transferred to the employment of the National Trust with Frank Thomson retained as Head Gardener. The team’s first task was to prepare the gardens for opening to the public under the National Trust banner. This meant creating car parking infrastructure and pedestrian footpaths around the garden. Later, the gardening team tackled the backlog of garden maintenance; work such as thinning the woods and dredging the lakes.
In addition to leading work in the historic gardens, Frank was involved in buildings restoration on the Temple of Venus, Temple of Ancient Virtue, the Hermitage, Lake Pavilions, the Temple of Concord and Victory and sections of the HaHa. Along with Richard Wheeler and George Clark, Frank visited the Huntington Library in California to access the Stowe archive and research the 18th century garden at Stowe. The information gathered has been invaluable in creating the conservation and management plans for Stowe, informing the continuing restoration of the park and garden. It also led to the National Trust’s acquisition of land at Bycell Ridings in 1995, Stowe Castle in 1997 and Deer Park and Home Farm in 1997.
The group photo is from the National Trust archive at Stowe. It shows the team responsible for Octagon Lake restoration in 1992. Frank Thomson – front row in beige jacket and cap. Two members of this team still work at Stowe: Paul Stefanovic, Assistant Head Gardener and Barry Smith, Head Gardener.
Frank left the National Trust in 1998 and an amazing legacy of garden conversation at Stowe. His vision, passion and caring hand still influences the work of Stowe’s garden and parks team today.
Image © National Trust Archive
Frank Thomson on front row in beige jacket and cap. Two members of this team still work at Stowe: Paul Stefanovic, Assistant Head Gardener and Barry Smith, Head Gardener.
Issued by National Trust Stowe
4 Dec 2024
