Luke Pope (1740–1825) was an English nurseryman and florist in the English West Midlands, who founded the firm that became John Pope & Sons. He was associated with the Manor of Smethwick, from whom he rented land and for whom he carried out the duties of constable and bailiff, and had nurseries there and in nearby Handsworth. He specialised in

tulips Tulips are spring-blooming perennial herbaceous bulbiferous geophytes in the ''Tulipa'' genus. Their flowers are usually large, showy, and brightly coloured, generally red, orange, pink, yellow, or white. They often have a different coloure ...

, claiming on his

deathbed A deathbed is a place where a person dies or lies during the last few hours before death. Deathbed or Death Bed may also refer to: * '' Death Bed: The Bed That Eats'', a 1977 horror film * "Death Bed (Coffee for Your Head)", a 2020 single by Powf ...

to have spent more than on them, and later in the shrubs and plants of North America for which his son John's travels in the United States were a source. His grandson, Luke Linnaeus Pope, prepared illustrations of plants from his father's stock as they would appear when they were in bloom.

Early life and family

Luke Pope was born in the

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

Smethwick Smethwick () is an industrial town in the Sandwell district, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It lies west of Birmingham city centre. Historically it was in Staffordshire and then Worcestershire before bei ...

, Staffordshire, in 1740. One of his sons was Henry Pope, known as Harry Pope, who had his nursery in

King's Norton Kings Norton, alternatively King's Norton, is an area of Birmingham, in the county of the West Midlands, England. Historically in Worcestershire, it was also a Birmingham City Council ward within the borough of Birmingham. The district lie ...

near Birmingham."Messrs. Pope and Sons' Nurseries, King's Norton, Near Birmingham"
by "W.D.W.", '' The Journal of Horticulture, Cottage Gardener, and Home Farmer'', Vol. X Third Series, January–June 1885, 30 April 1885, pp. 352-353. Henry died in 1891 leaving an estate of £3,014. Another son was John Pope (1772-1850) who was the father of Luke Linnaeus Pope (''fl''. 1820s), a botanical artist who was partly named after the Swedish botanist

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

. Another grandson was

Alexander Pope Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S. – 30 May 1744) was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early ...

who ran the family's Handsworth nursery.

Career

Pope was variously described as a gardener, a seedsman, and a nurseryman.Smethwick: Economic history.
British History Online. Retrieved 9 February 2022. He specialised in tulips and later in the shrubs and plants of North America. In 1788, he was pictured holding a specimen of ''

Correa speciosa ''Correa reflexa'' var. ''speciosa'', also known as eastern correa, is a variety of ''Correa reflexa'', a shrub native to Australia. Description It grows up to tall. Its leaves are up to long and wide and are dark green on the upper surface ...

'', a plant native to Australia. In 1771, he leased around one acre of common or waste land from the local

Lord of the Manor Lord of the manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England and Norman England, referred to the landholder of a historical rural estate. The titles date to the English Feudalism, feudal (specifically English feudal barony, baronial) system. The ...

, situated in Ruck of Stones Lane (now Lewisham Road), Smethwick. The lease was of 99 years with the condition that the area be kept fenced and that Pope build a house on the site worth at least £30. In 1781, he bought the freehold. In 1799, the roll of the Manor of Smethwick records his acquisition of a "messuage, land and appurtenances in Smethwick" from Samuell Lewis of

Halesowen Halesowen ( ) is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically an exclave of Shropshire and, from 1844, in Worcestershire, ...

.MS 3375/2/188.
Library of Birmingham. Retrieved 9 February 2022
archived
/ref> He was

constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. ''Constable'' is commonly the rank of an officer within a police service. Other peo ...

of that manor in 1796, and in 1802

bailiff A bailiff is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. There are different kinds, and their offices and scope of duties vary. Another official sometimes referred to as a '' ...

. Harvey, John. (1974) ''Early Nurserymen: With reprints of documents and lists''. London & Chichester: Phillimore. p. 104. ISBN 0850331919 His views as a constable on the effect of

tithe A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Modern tithes are normally voluntary and paid in money, cash, cheques or v ...

s on the crops planted by local farmers were reported in William Pitt's survey of the agriculture of Staffordshire. In 1809 the Lord of Smethwick enfranchised a piece of copyhold land occupied by Pope for a fee of £75. In 1790, Pope bought land at Gib Heath in Handsworth and it was the nursery he established there, continued after his death by his son John and grandson Alexander as John Pope and Sons, for which the family became well known in gardening circles.

Death and legacy

Pope died in 1825."Obituary. John Pope"
'' The Gardeners' Chronicle: A Weekly Illustrated Journal of Horticulture and Allied Subjects'', Vol. LXIII (Third Series), 9 February 1918, p. 62. He claimed on his deathbed to have spent over on tulips, the stock having been transferred to Handsworth by the time of his death where customers could inspect illustrations of the plants in bloom prepared by his grandson Luke Linnaeus Pope."Provincial Nurseries: Warwickshire"
'' The Gardener's Magazine, and Register of Rural and Domestic Improvement'', Vol. VIII (1832), pp. 110-112 (p. 110).Hadfield, Miles. (1985) ''A History of British Gardening''. Reprint of 1960 edition by Hutchinson. London: Penguin Books. p. 293. ISBN 014007256X Four

quarto Quarto (abbreviated Qto, 4to or 4º) is the format of a book or pamphlet produced from full sheets printed with eight pages of text, four to a side, then folded twice to produce four leaves. The leaves are then trimmed along the folds to produc ...

volumes were known in 1831, but in 1960,

Miles Hadfield Miles Heywood Hadfield (15 October 1903 – 31 March 1982) was an English writer on gardening and one of the founders, and the first president, of the Garden History Society. He was awarded the Royal Forestry Society's gold medal and the Royal Ho ...

was not sure if they still existed. Volume III of the illustrations, containing 88 watercolours, was acquired by

Birmingham City Archives Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

in 1998. The firm, which also had premises in

West Bromwich West Bromwich ( ), commonly known as West Brom, is a market town in the borough of Sandwell, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is northwes ...

, specialised in laying-out grounds for planting with fruit and trees bred at Handsworth, but also grew plants in its nursery of botanical and floral interest, particularly from the United States where John Pope had travelled widely. It also supplied material of rare plants for the preparation of illustrations in the books of

Benjamin Maund Benjamin Maund (1790–1863) was a British pharmacist, botanist, printer, bookseller, fellow of the Linnean Society (1827) and publisher of the ''Botanic Garden'' and ''The Botanist''. He served on the committee of the ''Worcestershire Natural H ...

and Jane Loudon. Smethwick contains a Pope Street, and Pope's Bridge which carries Bridge Street over the Birmingham Old Main Line Canal.Fisher, Stuart. (2017) ''Canals of Britain: A comprehensive guide''. 3rd edition. London: Adlard Coles Nautical. p. 7. ISBN 1472929721

Footnotes

References

External links

The Popes: Nurserymen of Birmingham.
Andy Mabbett, Birmingham City Council.
Popes Drive.
cotteridge.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Pope, Luke 1740 births 1825 deaths English horticulturists Florists People from Smethwick English company founders Nurserymen Bailiffs British florists