A Brief History In Sept 1946 Reginald Taylor was demobbed from the Army after serving almost six years in the Royal Army Service Corp. During this period he was made up to Sergeant Major and served in England, France, Holland, Belgium and Germany. He and his command were part of the D Day landings, his lorry convoys following closely to the front line troops. Before his rash decision to sign up Reg had worked for Thomas Robinson ltd, who were nurserymen in Carlton, Nottinghamshire. They traded on the Central Market at Nottingham and during his time with them the company opened two more retail outlets in Nottingham, one in Sherwood and one on Chapel Bar, Reg was appointed overall manager of both. Even earlier in life his love of growing was instilled by his father who was a collier at Gedling Pit but a very keen amateur grower and even keener showman. During the long nights of the war, Sergeant Taylor was busy making plans for the future and realised there would undoubtably be large gaps in supply in the Horticultural trade after the conflict was over. His firm intention was to start a business in his own right. With £200 in his pocket he contacted his uncle, a Mr Calvert from Chilwell, who had a small Nursery on Park Road, and a house on Grove Avenue. Calvert also had a regular stall in the Central Market situated "under the clock". In the later half of 1946 a deal was struck and Reg Taylor's, Park Road Nurseries were born. On the family land at Second Avenue Carlton, it was decided to grow Rose Trees as soon as a supply of understocks became available, so Reginald quickly added to the title of Nurseryman, Rosegrower. This later became Gold Medal Rosegrower as his expertise built and he became successful at many shows. One of his fond memories was when he shared the same bale of straw to sleep on with Harry Wheatcroft at Chelsea Show, two young men of similar ambition. Expansion was needed and in January of 1947 he acquired a loan of another £200 from the Midland Bank, Beeston, and confidently told the manager he would be back within three months to re-pay it. Unfortunately, it was to be the hardest Winter of the century, and with coal bills soaring and little or no trade on the market, all looked hopeless. With the last of the loan he decided it was "muck or nettles" and in late February went around local Nurseries buying where he could, for as little as he could. The weather broke just before Mothering Sunday week, and of course supplies were very short except at Reg Taylor's. On 1st May he proudly entered the Bank, paid off his loan, and deposited his first £75. From then on this first stage of the business never looked back. By 1962 Reg Taylor's had developed the nursery at Chilwell, opened a shop on the High Road in Beeston, moved to a larger Stall in the Central Market and bought more land at Carlton. However all the sites were being encroached with housing development and further expansion was impossible. In the June of that year thirteen acres of land were purchased at Normanton, Southwell. Hill Farm was its title with a large number of buildings surrounded by this small parcel of land. It was at this time that Reg's son Richard joined him in the business. The first year was spent clearing the site and carefully dismantling greenhouses for their erection on the new site. Another very hard winter followed but by Spring of 1964 Hill Farm Nurseries was back in production. The nursery at Chilwell and the land at Carlton being sold for building to finance the move. 1966 was the first indication that the Central Market would be closing and moving to a new site in the Victoria Centre. This was not a welcome move to Reg or Richard as their main retail sales were carried out on the market, although Richard had expanded the wholesale side of the nursery and was supplying many of the "New" Garden Centres throughout the country. Hill Farm Nurseries was considered a poor site for retailing, situated in a small hamlet with no main roads and very little in passing traffic. Against all advice Richard decided that he would try the market with a barrow at the gate. The first day he took the grand total of 4s 6d. Undeterred he filled the barrow daily with top quality plants produced on the nursery and within a few months the takings were respectable. However customers kept asking for greater variety and larger numbers. This meant walking from one area to another in order to satisfy their wishes. It was an obvious choice to open parts of the nursery for a wider selection of retail plants. The pressure for sundry items to compliment the plants soon saw greater and greater areas turned to retail sales. As the "Garden Centre" expanded more land was purchased at Normanton, with land and businesses at Upton and Wisbech purchased over the following years. When the Central Market eventually moved, Reg Taylor's Garden Centre was strong enough to cover the loss of sales with the Nurseries growing more and more of a wider range. Production of Hardy Nursery Stock along with Rose Trees and House Plants now playing a major part. Today the Nurseries reputation is largely based on the quality of their "own production". With the move of the Market, Reg retired in 1980 and sadly died in 1988. His great joy of these latter years was the knowledge that his Grand Children were preparing to join the company. Mark was the first in 1982 whilst his twin brother Paul was still studying for his degree. Marks early days were spent developing a nine acre site at the bottom of the Nursery. He excavated five lakes and after reforming the spoil this was planted with Trees and Shrubs over and developed into the "Swan and Wildfowl Sanctuary". This conservation area is slowly maturing with constant maintenance and further plantings and has become a favourite for its many visitors. Helen was the last of the three grandchildren to join the company after a spell with a multi national firm of accountants. Richard says expansion over the last ten years has been made easier by the enthusiasm of family members who now play crucial roles and have joined the many loyal staff who have served the business, some for over twenty five years. Landscapes Supplies, The Mower Shop, The Tea Rooms, The Big Tree Company have all been expanded in recent times on this thriving site. Richard now sees a bright future for Reg Taylor's; he oversees all the day to day running and with Paul, Mark & Helen as Directors and each specialising in different aspects of the groups many companies he sees service and quality being expanded and maintained over the next sixty years. Who would have dared thought a multi-million pound company would be looking to bright future from the dreams of War torn Europe some sixty years on. Reg Taylor did.