Reginald Radcliffe Cory (1871 – 1934) was an influential

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

horticulturalist Horticulture (from ) is the art and science of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs and ornamental plants. Horticulture is commonly associated with the more professional and technical aspects of plant cultivation on a smaller and mo ...

Life

The third son of Sir

John Cory John Cory (18 March 1828 – 27 January 1910) was a British philanthropist, coal-owner and ship-owner. Cory Way is named after him in the eastern area of Barry Docks, which he was involved with building in the 1880s. Family John Cory was born ...

, a shipping and coal

magnate The term magnate, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...

and

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

, he read law at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

and inherited and developed his father's

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estate at Dyffryn after his father's death in 1910, together with landscape architect

Thomas Mawson Thomas Hayton Mawson (5 May 1861 – 14 November 1933), known as T. H. Mawson, was a British garden designer, landscape architect, and town planner. Personal life Mawson was born in Nether Wyresdale, Lancashire, and left school at age 12 ...

. Today it is a

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

property. He had a passion for plants and botany and in the early 1930s he undertook a number of plant hunting expeditions, and commissioned others, some of the results of which are exhibited at Dyffryn. He would also share plants with other gardens, including the

Cambridge Botanic Garden The Cambridge University Botanic Garden is a botanical garden located in Cambridge, England, associated with the university Department of Plant Sciences (formerly Botany School). It lies between Trumpington Road to the west, Bateman Street to ...

. Amongst other features, the gardens bear evidence of his trips to Italy. Cory was a writer on horticulture, a researcher and

liveryman A livery company is a type of guild or professional association that originated in medieval times in London, England. Livery companies comprise London's ancient and modern trade associations and guilds, almost all of which are styled the "Wors ...

of the Ancient Guild of Gardeners, and became a vice-president of the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...

(RHS) and was a major benefactor of the Society, and other botanical resources including the

, where his friend Humphrey Gilbert-Carter was

Director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

. The residence of the Director, the construction of which he funded in 1924, is named Cory Lodge after him. Today it houses the Cory Library and Garden Herbarium. In 1930 he married Rosa Kester who worked at the Garden.

Legacy

When he died in 1934 he

bequeathed A devise is the act of giving real property by will, traditionally referring to real property. A bequest is the act of giving property by will, usually referring to personal property. Today, the two words are often used interchangeably due to thei ...

his collection of art and books to the RHS library, the

Lindley Library The Lindley Library in London is the largest horticultural library in the world. It is within the headquarters of the Royal Horticultural Society. Library The main part of the library is based at 80 Vincent Square, London, within the headquarters ...

, the largest bequest they had received. The bequest was catalogued by the new librarian,

William Stearn William Thomas Stearn (; 16 April 1911 – 9 May 2001) was a British botanist. Born in Cambridge in 1911, he was largely self-educated and developed an early interest in books and natural history. His initial work experience was at a C ...

. The balance of his estate went to the Cambridge Botanic Garden, and the Cory Fund continues to be an important source of revenue for the Garden, which also houses the Cory Laboratories. He is remembered by the RHS with the Cory Cup for

Dahlias ''Dahlia'' ( , ) is a genus of bushy, tuberous, herbaceous perennial plants native to Mexico and Central America. Dahlias are members of the Asteraceae (synonym name: Compositae) family of dicotyledonous plants, its relatives include the sun ...

and Cory Memorial Cup.

Selected publications

* The Horticultural Record 1914

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cory, Reginald British horticulturists 1871 births 1934 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge