Collection SSC - Suttons Seed Catalogue

Extent: 6 boxes

Admin History: Sutton's Seeds was founded in Reading in 1806 by John Sutton (1777-1863) and primarily sold corn. After his Sons (Martin Hope and Alfred) joined him in 1832, the company launched their flower and vegetable seed venture that specialised in "pure, unadulterated seed". This coincided with significant changes at the time to agriculture and industry in England. After acquiring nursery grounds, the company began selling greenhouse plants. Bulbs came from local nurseries and from The Netherlands. 1858 brought Royal Patronage to the business, from Queen Victoria, to provide seeds to the Royal Household. Sutton's Seeds have held the Royal Warrant ever since. The Sutton's decided over time that they needed to test seed themselves for germination and purity, and established a laboratory for this reason in 1840. The family's seed-testing laboratory became one of the first to be licensed by the Government, with such practice became mandatory after the Seeds Act was passed in the 1920s, some 80 years later. Seed testing and trial grounds continue to be owned by Sutton's, to ensure high germination, quality and purity levels. After the establishment of the Reading-London rail link, Sutton's Seeds used rail to obtain large orders of seeds and bulbs, and to send wholesale orders that were too heavy to go by mail to customers. These developments, in addition to developments in gardening and fertiliser technology, meant that there were significant advances in breeding and hybridising new strains of seeds, which brought increasing new varieties. In 1962, Sutton's moved to new premises that benefited from the (then) main road from London to Bath. The newly designed building and premises meant the facilities were the most up-to-date for the sector in this country. In 2017, flower and vegetable seeds are produced around the world for Sutton's. This ensures that the seeds benefit from long summers and dry harvesting conditions. In 1965, Sutton's were the first company to offer foil packets to amateur gardeners in the UK, as a result of their development of the "Harvest Fresh" Foil Seed Packet system. Sutton's distribution and packaging remain in the U.K. to this day, following their move from Reading to Devon in 1976.