Jean's insight on her grandfather

“When I was a child I used to write him an annual nature diary, which he would later discuss with me. Looking back on those discussions, I see that he had an almost Wordsworthian feeling for the countryside, the sea, and all open places, and of course for his own garden and all the things that grew and lived there. He had an endless curiousity about plants. When he was in the South of France, he trespassed confidently into any garden that took his fancy, and once, when he was accosted by the owner, handed him a card and said ‘come and trespass in mine’.” Jean Rowntree (Joseph’s granddaughter) 1973.

Image: From originals held at the Borthwick Institute for Archives.