Display: Finding Miss Harrisson

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Earlier in 2018, the RHS Libraries team came across a small package of papers in the RHS archive which revealed that in 1898 a woman named Miss Harrisson had achieved the top marks in the RHS Horticultural Practice Examination and claimed her entitlement to a scholarship to study at the RHS Garden in Chiswick. The letters revealed that this caused some consternation within the RHS, as the Chiswick Garden only accepted male students. A scribbled note at the top of a leaflet revealed that the RHS had not spelt out in its literature that the scholarship was not open to women because ‘it was never contemplated that a woman would claim.’

With the help of BBC Breakfast, we put out an appeal to see if anyone could help us find out more about Miss Harrisson. The appeal was successful and this small display of facsimile letters and photographs from our collection and Miss Harrisson’s family reveals the achievements of this remarkable young woman in the face of the expectations and conventions of her time.

Image: Carte de visite of Olive M. Harrisson, aged 17​. RHS Lindley Collections

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