Laxton Brothers was a business founded by Edward Augustine Lowe Laxton MBE (1869–1951) and William Hudson Lowe Laxton (1866–1923) who were notable horticulturists, pioneers of plant breeding and experts on fruit production creating several new strains of fruit such as 'Laxtonberry', 'Laxton's Delicious' plum tree, Laxton's No.1 red currant, Laxton’s Superb apples and the award-winning Lord Lambourne apple.

History

Edward, educated at

Bedford Modern School Bedford Modern School (often called BMS or simply Modern) is a Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference independent school in Bedford, England. The school has its origins in Bedford Charity, The Harpur Trust, born from the financial endowme ...

, and William were the sons of

Thomas Laxton Thomas Laxton (1830 – 6 August 1893) was a Plant breeding, plant breeder and a correspondent of Charles Darwin, best known for his hybridisation of peas. Thomas Laxton was born in the village of Tinwell, Rutland in 1830. He practised as a soli ...

, a notable horticulturist and correspondent of

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English Natural history#Before 1900, naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all speci ...

. They went into partnership in

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated ''Beds'') is a Ceremonial County, ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckin ...

in 1888 as ‘Laxton Brothers’, concentrating their attention on crossing the best varieties of apples, pears, plums and small fruits. Basing their developments on the breadth and depth of their father’s work, the brothers produced most of the 27 ‘Laxton’ strains of apple, 9 strains of ‘Laxton’ pears (Beurre Bedford, Laxtons´s Early Market, Laxton´s Foremost, Laxton´s Harvester, Laxton´s Record, Laxton´s Satisfaction, Laxton´s Superb, Laxton´s Victor, Laxton´s Wonderful) 9 strains of ‘Laxton’ plums and 6 strains of ‘Laxton’ strawberries. In 1937,

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

ordered raspberry plants from the Laxton Brothers to cultivate on his

Chartwell Chartwell is a English country house, country house near Westerham, Kent, in South East England. For over forty years, it was the home of Sir Winston Churchill. He bought the property in September 1922 and lived there until shortly before his ...

estate in

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

. William Hudson Lowe Laxton died on 14 December 1923 in

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population was 106,940. Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire and seat of the Borough of Bedford local government district. Bedford was founded at a ford (crossin ...

at the age of 57. Edward Laxton continued to run the business with his son, Edward William Henry Laxton, until his son’s early death in 1942 when his house in

took a direct hit by a German bomb. Edward Laxton was made MBE in the

1951 New Year Honours The 1951 New Years Honours were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1951 for the Brit ...

but died shortly thereafter on 22 February 1951. The business was discontinued in 1957 when Laxton Brothers and Bunyards Nurseries amalgamated and ran as Bunyards and Laxtons Nurseries, operating from Brampton Nurseries in Huntingdon. In honour of the brothers, an orchard consisting exclusively of their fruit trees was planted in

in 1999.

Publication

''The Strawberry Manual'', by Laxton Brothers. Published by Hulatt & Richardson (1899).

References

{{reflist

External links

Laxton Brothers at Virtual Library

Park Wood Orchard, stocked with fruit trees developed by the Laxton Brothers
English horticulturists English botanists People from Bedford People educated at Bedford Modern School