In 2022, Judit Kiraly, who runs the English American library in Nice, undertook extensive research for an exhibition at the Musée Masséna regarding some of the many British botanists and horticulturists who worked here or wrote about the Riviera flora. Here she shares her knowledge about Mr Edward Woodall, who wintered in Nice for over three decades and who was a well-respected, scientific horticulturist-gardener.
The 1st of November 2023 marked the 110th anniversary of the dedication of the apse of Holy Trinity, Nice. On the left side of the apse is a bronze plaque, listing the names of the Reverend Buckton and three Church Wardens of that time which was shortly before the outbreak of the First World War. One of these three ‘administrators’ was Edward H. Woodall (who rarely used the “Reverend” in front of his name, preferring the simple “ Mr Woodall ”).
Born in 1843, his family was anchored in Scarborough where they were bankers and land owners. His grandfather’s house later formed part of the Town Hall and his brother was elected Mayor of Scarborough. The St Nicholas Gardens in Scarborough were installed by Edward Woodall and he often sent seeds and plants from Nice for the town’s parks and walks to further embellish them. Edward Henry Woodall received an excellent education at Rugby School and then at Oriel College Oxford where he matriculated in 1861, at the age of 18. He obtained his BA degree in 1866 and his M.A. in 1870 but chose not to follow an ecclesiastic career: plants and flowers were his true interest.
He was known in the English language press as “Mr Woodall of Brancolar” in the winter months, Brancolar being part of the hillside of Cimiez. During the summer months he travelled extensively or worked in Scarborough. He collected plants, flowers and seeds during his travels, photographed them and wrote about them. From the1880s he visited Nice during several winters and started to look around for a suitable plot to buy. In 1899, he bought the villa La Selva on the hillside of Cimiez with a large garden attached, for the hefty sum of 60,000 francs. It soon became a horticultural landmark due to his expert gardening skills in exotic shrubs and flowers.
From 1895 to 1899, Queen Victoria holidayed five times in Cimiez. She liked to visit the gardens of villas, sitting in her famous little donkey-cart. Some of the fences and walls were removed between the nearby properties of Torre di Cimella and the villa Liserb so they became contiguous gardens and she could also carry on to La Selva. Even though the newspapers reported the ‘walks’ or ‘promenades’ of the Queen, she rarely got out of her cart, as on foot she could manage only very short distances but she loved visiting gardens. These huge private gardens of British owners were maintained by an army of gardeners and were truly delightful to visit.
Mr Woodall was a frequent contributor to the main English and American gardening journals and magazines, being an expert in roses, dahlias, orchids and exotic plants. Gertrude Jekyll, the famous gardener-writer was one of his many friends. He contributed a well-illustrated chapter about Riviera garden roses to her book about English roses.
He wrote, edited and published on a wide variety of subjects while living in Oswestry, Shropshire: an important study about the population of Montgomeryshire and also an illustrated guide to railway routes and roads in North Wales. He co-wrote and published with a Mr Roberts the “Gossiping Guide to Wales”. More exotic subjects were also covered: “Tasmanian vegetation”, and an article about ‘Trees for the future’.
Probably his best- known publication is an excellent sixty page biographical study titled “Charles Darwin” which was written for the Shropshire Archaeological and Natural History Society. Mr Woodall had enormous respect for Darwin’s work as a naturalist and this biography is still used as a reference since he personally interviewed several friends and family members to get first-hand information about the Darwin-Wedgewood family history.
Edward Woodall was a keen and careful photographer. Even the very private Mrs Evans who owned the Torre di Cimella, permitted him to photograph her garden. His photographs were also featured in The Illustrated London News.
Another well-known specialist gardener nearby was the American Mr Spang (who was also the owner of the large villa on the Promenade that is today called the CUM ). Mr Spang maintained a garden in Cimiez that he kept exclusively to house his cactus collection. Some of the famous specialised gardeners of that time living on the Riviera were fortunate enough to be very wealthy.
If we have kiwi trees today in the South of France and Corsica it is due to the very first tree that he planted in his garden in Brancolar. He experimented with Chinese shrubs and planted many new exotic plants and trees, although not all thrived.
Mr Woodall was a well-respected horticulturist and recipient of the Veitch Memorial Medal of the Royal Horticultural Society. Even in his eighties, he was active in many associations in Nice and in Scarborough. He never married but had a large circle of friends.
Edward H. Woodall retired from Nice to Scarborough in1934 and died there in 1937 at the age of 94. He was a valued member of the congregation of Holy Trinity Nice.
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