Miles Hadfield | |
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| Born | Miles Heywood Hadfield 15 October 1903 Handsworth, Staffordshire, England |
| Died | 31 March 1982 (aged 78)[1] |
| Occupation(s) | Garden writer and journalist |
| Notable work | A History of British Gardening (1960) |
Miles Heywood Hadfield (15 October 1903 – 31 March 1982) was an English writer on gardening and one of the founders, and the first president, of the Garden History Society. He was awarded the Royal Forestry Society's gold medal and the Royal Horticultural Society's Veitch Memorial Medal.
Hadfield studied engineering before taking a job at Best and Lloyd, who made light fittings, where he worked from 1924 to 1930 locally and in London. He then became a full time writer and illustrator on botanical and forestry topics, producing books such as The Gardener's Companion (1936), Everyman's Wild Flowers and Trees (1938), British Trees: A guide for everyman (1957), and the work he is best known for, A History of British Gardening (1960), which has become the standard work on the subject.
During the Second World War he worked for the Ministry of Food ensuring food supplies in the English Midlands. In later life he became involved with the National Trust, working on the reconstruction of historic gardens such as Westbury Court in Gloucestershire which had fallen into disrepair.[2] The gardens were subsequently grade II* listed with Historic England.
- ^ Desmond, Ray (25 February 1994). Dictionary of British And Irish Botanists And Horticulturists Including plant collectors, flower painters and garden designers. CRC Press. p. 307. ISBN 9780850668438. search related to year of VMM award
- ^ Cole, Katherine (10 November 2023). "Miles Hadfield: The crusading gardener and writer who saved Britain's finest garderns from the bulldozer". Country Life.