Shropshire Star

This man's family have been working the grounds of Weston Park for 220 years

When it comes to the history of Weston Park, there's little that Martin Gee doesn't know.

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Weston Park Head Gardener Martin Gee

His family have been working and living on the grounds for an impressive 220 years – since 1803 – and the reign of King George III.

As Head Gardner, Martin's day-to-day role is to look after the Capability Brown pleasure grounds, rose gardens, holiday lets and the large walled garden on the 1,000-acre estate.

But Martin also leads guided history walks of the Park's 'Fabulous Follies' – structures which were built purely for ornamentation and don't necessarily have an obvious purpose.

Six generations of Gee men have worked at Weston Park and Martin's own story began at the age of 15.

Weston Park Head Gardener Martin Gee

Now, some 54 years on, and Martin is still working hard to maintain the beautiful setting which he puts down to having the support of a great team. hard

Martin said: "The whole place is beautiful. It's a beautiful place to work and you know, a place is only as good as the team you've got working around you and I'm very lucky.

"You've got to have a good relationship with your team or it can be quite hard. We work closely with the Parks Operation team and our paths cross quite a lot. The young team of apprentices have started to show promise as well now.

"Most of what I know about Weston Park tends to come from family," Martin added, "but every day is a school day because you are always finding something out."

Family lineage