Sunday 4 July started cloudy and raining – but by the time 2pm rolled around the sun had decided to come out. In plenty of time for the opening of the Friends of West Ham Park’s new, permanent, exhibition celebrating the life and work of Dr John Fothergill, which can be found in the Rose Garden.

They have called this exhibition the ‘Kew Gardens of the East’ as the plant collection it contained was only rivalled by Kew.

Some of Dr Fothergill’s extensive gardens are now in West Ham Park – it’s thought some of the greenhouses are on the site of the ones belonging to Dr Fothergill. The exhibition was opened by actor Alison Steadman, a keen environmentalist, who was accompanied by her partner Michael Elwyn.

Alison is a friend of local actor Marlene Sidaway, and they are both frequent visitors to the park.

A crowd of about 60 people turned up to watch Alison untie the ribbon and open the exhibition, after which local boy Aaron Caroo presented her with a bunch of flowers picked from the gardens.

Also in attendance were Councillor Winston Vaughan, Chair of Newham Council and First Citizen of the Borough, and Caroline Haines and Martin Rodman from the City of London Corporation.

The exhibition has been developed by the Friends of West Ham Park with the help and support of The City of London Corporation, Dr John Edmondson, Kew Gardens, The Friends Library (the Quakers), British Library, Australian National Maritime Museum and Fitzpatrick Woolmer.

At the same time a small craft event took place, where children were asked to design a new flower for Dr Fothergill to discover – there were some great designs including the much loved One-Eyed Flower and the fantastical Lite Trapper!

More info on Friends of West Ham Park: Website, Email, Facebook and Instagram

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