Miss Mary Spiller: the quiet authority in the garden
“Miss Spiller from Waterperry”, a horticulturist widely known and respected in Oxfordshire, and in broader gardening circles, has died at the age of 95.
Mary Spiller was a guiding light at Waterperry Gardens near Thame for many years, up until her retirement (at the age of 90!) in 2014. She was the first woman presenter of the BBC TV series Gardeners’ World, and wrote two authoritative gardening books. As well as teaching at Waterperry from the early 1960’s, Mary was also famous for her very well-attended lectures about all aspects of gardening and horticulture, which she presented in venues all over Oxfordshire for more than 60 years
Mary Rose Spiller was born, raised and lived in the house in Cowley in Oxford built by her grandfather, former landlord of The Old Tom pub opposite Christchurch College in the city. Her parents were Reginald Spiller, a crystallographer at Oxford University, and his wife Olive May.
Mary had a ‘very happy childhood’ with her sister, Betty, in the countryside around Cowley, and was interested in gardening and wildlife from her earliest years, inspired by her grandfather, Edward Munt, who grew vegetables and flowers, and kept bees in their garden in Cowley.
She attended a convent school and then primary school in Temple Cowley and followed her sister to Milham Ford school, then next to St Hilda’s College by the River Cherwell in Oxford. Her nephew said: “She loved messing about on boats: she and my Mum used to punt on the river a lot – the whole family did!”
During World War Two Mary did not want to follow other women by becoming a nurse or teacher, but instead wanted to work at the Women’s Land Army. Her father did not approve and he discovered Waterperry School of Horticulture, just outside Oxford, where she went after leaving school in 1942, beginning her career in the gardening world.
She boarded there during the week for two years under Beatrix Havergal, who had established and was then running the school with a very firm hand. After those first two years, Mary was asked to continue working and studying at Waterperry for a further two years, which she readily did: although Mary said that Miss Havergal was quite an imposing figure, in the end they learned how to get on and work with each other very successfully.
Mary then spent some years as a self-employed gardener working across the country in places as far afield as Yorkshire, Cornwall and Wales, coming back to work in gardens around Oxford (most notably Shotover Hill, east of Oxford) and to begin teaching and lecturing about horticulture. In 1963, “Miss H” asked Mary to come back to Waterperry to lecture, run the ornamental garden, and develop new courses, and “Miss Spiller” worked there with her until Beatrix Havergal’s retirement, and the closure of Waterperry Horticultural School in 1971.
When the estate was bought by its current owners, the School of Economic Science in 1972, Mary, and Miss Jean Manger, also from the former school, became Education and Gardens managers, and Mary took over both roles when Jean Manger retired a few years later. The development of Waterperry Gardens to its current eminence from the early 60’s until the present day has come about through very fruitful partnerships firstly between Mary Spiller and Miss Havergall, and subsequently through the 70’s and 80’s and beyond between Miss Spiller and Bernard Saunders of the SES.
Mary Spiller wrote two books; one entitled ‘Growing Fruit’ – an important contribution to the subject on its publication – and ‘Weeds: search and destroy: the easy way to identify, control and eliminate troublesome weeds’ – which speaks for itself! She became an Associate of Honour of the Royal Horticultural Society in 2008, and carried on gardening and having an interest in Waterperry through her involvement with ‘The Friends of Waterperry’ right up until her death. She was also in the process of writing a personal memoir, which remains, sadly, unfinished.
A fellow Cowley resident, recently wrote of Mary “I found her to be such an unassuming person, despite her talents and prestigious work at Waterperry. It was always lovely to be with her, as she was such an interesting person herself, but was always so interested to hear all about you, too.” Mary Spiller was also entranced by nature, and spent many holidays walking in the hills and on the cliffs watching and enjoying wild animals, birds and of course wild plants. Over her long and productive life, she became authoritative about many things: largely because she was so ready to listen as well as to speak. That gentle source of authority, which she was always happy to share and develop, will be greatly missed by the many people who knew and respected her.
Although Miss Spiller never married, as ‘the right person never came along’, she had a vision of having 11 children – ‘enough to make a cricket team’. Her niece said “Auntie Mary was always close to us as children, indeed she took great pleasure in all her friends’ and family’s children; she was devoted to, loved and will be missed by her surviving sister (Betty Olive Corser) and three generations of cousins, nephews and nieces, along with many, many friends and colleagues whose lives she touched and influenced.”
Miss Mary Rose Spiller passed away peacefully on Sunday, October 27, in hospital after a short illness.
Other links
The Daily Telegraph obituary – a really good outline of Mary’s strengths as a gardener.
The Times obituary – another great piece about Mary.
The Oxford Mail obituary includes some lovely photos of Mary.
The Gardeners World tribute to Mary.
Some Waterperry photos of Mary.
The Wikipedia article about Mary.
An Oxford Times article about Miss Havergal (but much about Mary…)