Charles Roy Lancaster CBE (born 1937) is a British plantsman, gardener, author and broadcaster.

Background

Charles Roy Lancaster was born in

Farnworth Farnworth is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, southeast of Bolton, 4.3 miles south-west of Bury (7 km), and northwest of Manchester. Historically in Lancashire, Farnworth lies on the River I ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a Historic counties of England, historic county, Ceremonial County, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significa ...

and is most widely known for his work on the long running BBC TV programme, '' Gardeners' World''. He has also regularly appeared on the BBC Radio show Gardeners' Question Time and is also a freelance writer and lecturer. Formerly the first Curator of the Hillier Arboretum (now the

Sir Harold Hillier Gardens The Sir Harold Hillier Gardens is an arboretum comprising 72 hectares (180 acres) accommodating over 42,000 trees and shrubs in about 12,000 taxa, notably a collection of oaks, camellia, magnolia and rhododendron. The Gardens are located n ...

), he has travelled the world on plant finding expeditions. He has been a member 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 (No ...

for almost 40 years, and is vice-chairman of the society's Floral Committee B and a member of several other committees. Lancaster is also President of the

Hardy Plant Society The Hardy Plant Society is a British charity that promotes the cultivation of hardy herbaceous plants. The society was founded in 1957 by a group of gardeners and nurserymen. It has approximately 7,500 members and provides information about fa ...

; a UK-based horticultural society that fosters interest in hardy herbaceous plants.

Honours

Lancaster was awarded both the Veitch Memorial Medal (1972) and the Victoria Medal of Honour (1988) by the

. In the

1999 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1999 for various Commonwealth realms were announced on 30 December 1998, to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 1999. The ''Honours list'' is a list of people who have been awarded one of the various orders, d ...

, he was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) "for services to horticulture". In the 2014 Birthday Honours, he was promoted to

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(CBE) "for services to horticulture and charity".

References

1937 births People from Farnworth Living people English television presenters English gardeners English garden writers Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Veitch Memorial Medal recipients Victoria Medal of Honour recipients {{Horticulture-stub