James Veitch (horticulturist)

James was a natural gardener and he helped his father on the Killerton estate from a very early age.

This was followed by the first of a number of shops or seed warehouses in the city centre area, with the first at 54 High Street and the last at the site of the Well House Inn in Cathedral Yard.

The family had by now moved into their specially-commissioned villa, Gras Lawn, close to the Mount Radford nursery.

The multi-stemmed Sequoiadendron giganteum which graced the front garden of the Veitch residence can still be seen today as it towers above a new development off Barrack Road.

In 1839 James Veitch Snr extended the nurseries still further by renting 30 acres (120,000 m2) of land at Poltimore known as the "Bramberries".