The Bembridge Horticultural & Cottage Garden Society

The Bembridge Horticultural and Cottage Garden Society was set up in 1909, its first annual show being held at Hill Grove by kind permission of Lieutenant Colonel Moreton. To celebrate the occasion the Shanklin Band was hired to provide entertainment, and returned the following year when the show transferred to the Vicarage Grounds, its twenty-two members playing from 2 pm until 10 pm for a fee of seven guineas and the cost of the teas. During its early years the Society regularly attracted over 200 entries to its Annual Flower Show, and then as now, it supported a year round programme of talks quizzes, plant sales and other events : its winter dinners, which took place at either the Bembridge Hotel or the Royal Spithead Hotel, being remarked upon for the “conviviality” of its members.

(See ‘The Story of Bembridge Horticultural Society’, T W Marriott, 1978)

Over the intervening decades the Society’s fortunes have regularly waxed and waned against the background of two world wars and the many changes to the village and the village way of life. Today, over 125 years on from its inception, it still supports the horticultural interests and activities of the Bembridge community. Whilst whist drives, rabbit and poultry classes may be a thing of the past, it holds two summer shows and a full program of events throughout the winter months. The Society is affiliated to the Royal Horticultural Society and in a long-established tradition new members are always warmly welcomed.

About Us

The Bembridge Horticultural Society organizes shows, talks and other events, including a spring and autumn plant sale, throughout the year. Membership costs £5 per year and our annual subscriptions fall due at the AGM which is held in October. Everyone is welcome.

Officers & Committee Members for 2025

PresidentAndrew Nightingale
ChairmanCaroline Peel
Vice-ChairmanJan Yeats
SecretaryVacant
TreasurerJoanna Truman
Show SecretaryMatilda Palmer
Programme SecretaryJan Yeats
Minutes SecretaryDeborah Meadows
Other MembersDorian Campbell
Eve Dyer
Honorary AuditorAngus Bruce
Life MembersPam Browning
Eve Dyer
Hilary Hayley
Hazel Ransome

Bembridge in Bloom

This year the Bembridge Horticultural Society has joined forces with Bembridge Parish Council in order to support “Bembridge in Bloom”, a village-wide competition, held in early June, whose aim is to encourage more people to celebrate and share in the horticultural life of our village.

Further information can be obtained from the Bembridge Parish Council Office, 5 Foreland Road, Bembridge PO35 5XN.

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