Serendipity Underpins Presentation of Head Gardener’s Snuff Box

Levens Hall and Gardens’ head gardener of 40 years, Chris Crowder, has been presented with an extraordinary leaving gift ahead of his official retirement on September 1.

Thanks to a fair degree of serendipity, he has been gifted a stunning George IV silver hunting snuff box by the property’s owners. Most fittingly, the provenance of this item shows it once belonged to one of his predecessors in the role of head gardener at the South Lakes Elizabethan mansion and gardens.

The snuff box was actually formerly owned by Alexander Forbes, head gardener at the Levens estate between 1810 and 1861 and, like Chris, one of only 11 head gardeners who have held the role since 1694.

An inscription inside the hallmarked box reads, ‘Presented to Mr Alexander Forbes of Levens by Richard Rushton Preston as an acknowledgement of his valuable services in the formation of the new plantation at Preston Patrick AD 1838’.

The beautiful box was originally made by the high-quality Birmingham-based maker, Thomas Shaw, in 1829, and was a remarkable gift for Alexander Forbes to have received in 1838.  

Like Chris Crowder, Alexander Forbes was regarded as one of the leading gardeners of his age.  Born in Scotland in 1784, he moved down to Westmorland, initially working at Ormside Lodge in Appleby.  He then moved to Levens Hall in 1810, aged 26.  

By 1819, Forbes had thrown himself into re-establishing horticultural excellence at Levens Hall.  He had quickly planted new box trees and created a box parterre and developed definite thoughts about landscaping.  By this point, he was running a business called Forbes Ornamental Gardening.

That year, the Westmorland Gazette carried an advertisement inviting people to join a subscription list for a new book to be published by Forbes.  By August, the paper was detailing Forbes’ thanks for the numerous subscribers who had offered ‘liberal patronage’.  On February 26, 1820, the newspaper announced ‘Short Hints on Ornamental Gardens’, by Alexander Forbes, was officially published.

In the book Forbes states he is gardener to the Hon. Col F.G Howard MP.  This was Fulk Greville Howard, who took the Howard name after marrying, Mary Howard, by this time the owner of Levens. Within the book, Forbes explains his adherence to the fashion of laying out flower gardens on grass lawns, surrounded by shrubbery, with cottage-garden flower species planted “promiscuously” in the shrubbery’s foreground.  He believed walks should intersect the plantings, to add to the viewer’s enjoyment of the flowers.  All of these facets were available to him at Levens Hall, thanks to the original garden design of 1694, devised by the first head gardener, Monsieur Guillaume Beaumont.

Forbes included a chapter on dahlias and stated, “I have had the Dahlia flowering in great perfection from the middle of July until the latter end of October at Levens Gardens, Westmorland.”

Forbes’ stock seemed to rise even further in the following years. In 1822, an article in the Lonsdale Magazine and Kendal Repository described the gardens, “under the care of Mr Forbes” as being “justly esteemed for their beauty and tasteful antiquity.”  A visit by Francis Gibson of Bridge End in Essex, in 1834, noted the “fantastically clipped yew trees.”  The garden was also described as “the most perfect specimen of the kind ever seen.”

There was perhaps little wonder then that Forbes was the go-to expert for the 27-year-old Richard Rushton Preston, when he wanted a plantation at his estate.  This young lawyer was largely based in London, so perhaps wanted a trusted pair of hands working on the project.  Before his death at the age of 34, he had acquired quite a collection of artworks by leading artists, including Holbein and Reynolds, so beautiful possessions, such as the snuff box, were very much in keeping with his lifestyle.

Forbes, who never married, presumably kept the snuff box until his death in 1861, when he was still the Levens Hall head gardener and was laid to rest in Heversham.  His niece, back in Inverness-shire, was his heir and this may explain how the snuff box came to be in the possession of Scottish silver dealer, Highland Antiques, in 2026.  

This is where the serendipity played its part, when Janet Pruce, the local Cumbrian organiser of The Northern Antiques Fair, to be held in Leyburn between October 8 and 11, spotted mention of the snuff box and its inscription and made the local connection.

Levens Hall was alerted to the item, just at the time when it was considering what a fitting leaving gift for Chris Crowder might be. Owner Richard Bagot then purchased the item, knowing Chris had become aware of it and had a keen interest in it.

Richard Bagot says, “The history of the Levens Hall garden has been one of dedicated custodians, in the form of our head gardeners, who have each passed on a legacy to their successors.  It is most fitting that, in exactly the same way, the snuff box that was once presented to Alexander Forbes is now in the hands of Chris Crowder.  We are delighted to have made this happen and bring the snuff box back to Cumbria. It is a sign of our gratitude to Chris for his 40 years of hard work and dedication to making Levens Hall and Gardens one of the world’s leading gardens.”

During the month of September, members of the public will be able to view the snuff box for themselves, as Chris Crowder has kindly loaned it to Levens Hall, to allow it to be on show for a short time.  To see it during this month, purchase tickets at www.levenshall.co.uk

Ends

Editors notes

Levens Hall & Gardens is a historic house in the South Lakes, Cumbria, close to Kendal and home to the world's oldest topiary gardens, dating from 1694, created by French garden designer, Guillaume Beaumont. The Hall is a stunning Elizabethan house built around a 13th century pele tower and has close links to the Duke of Wellington, as well as various items which once belonged to him and Napoleon Bonaparte. Levens Park is home to the rare Bagot goats gifted to the Bagot family and a place in which to stroll and enjoy nature. Levens Kitchen is the contemporary new cafe, full of delights for cake lovers and foodies alike.