(1855-1951)
Coronation Gardens, Southfields, London SW18 5ND
Fanny’s statuette adorns the renovated drinking fountain in one of 75 London parks that she designed.
In 1883 and after much persuasion, Fanny was the first and only woman to be accepted on a Landscape Gardening and Practical Horticulture course at the Crystal Palace School in Sydenham. A year later, she was elected as honorary gardener to the Metropolitan Public Gardens Association leading to a professional paid position two years later.
Fanny was also a suffragist, an activist in sanitary and political reform, and a supporter of women’s education and rights. In an interview in 1890 she said: “I certainly do not let myself be underpaid as many women do … I know my profession and charge accordingly, as all women should.”
The fountain was originally installed in 1904. Today, Fanny can be seen holding a plant above the tap, honouring not only her part in Coronation Gardens’ existence, but in recognition of her pioneering work as the first professional female landscape designer in Britain.
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