Charles Williams VMH
President and Trustee
Charles Williams owns the Caerhays Estate and is senior partner of online plant retailer, Burncoose Nurseries.
A member of the RHS Rhododendron and Camellia sub-committee, he is the proud recipient of the RHS Victoria Medal of Honour.
Charles’ great grandfather bred the original x williamsii strain of camellias in the 1920s. Caerhays holds The Plant Heritage National Collection of Magnolias.
Martin Petherick
Chairman and Trustee
Martin Petherick is helping to coordinate social media activities for the CGS.
His family has built a varied collection of camellias at Porthpean near St Austell, including the propagation of several new hybrids. He is in the process of restoring the walled garden and reviving the camellia nursery.
Judith Hancock
Vice-Chairman and Trustee
With a background in fine art and sculpture, Judith Hancock’s interest in plants and their impact originated whilst working in the field of garden design. She co-organised the lecture programme for the CGS for seven years, bringing well-known horticulturalists and speakers to Cornwall to share their knowledge with members.
Jonathon Croggon
Trustee
Jonathon grew up amidst the regeneration of the gardens at Creed House near Grampound after his parents bought and restored it in the early 1970s. He continues to live there with his family. In his professional life Jonathon has followed a career in investment and fund management, but is a keen gardener in his spare time.
Charles Fox
Trustee
Charles Fox lives at Glendurgan, one of the famous gardens that the Fox family created. He has written a book about its history and another book about the family’s business interests in Cornwall. In the early 1990s, Charles qualified twice as a garden designer; he is also a professional artist.
Mike Nelhams
Trustee
Mike Nelhams has been Garden Curator / Director of the Tresco Abbey Garden on the Isles of Scilly since 1984.
Mike has a particular interest in plants from the Mediterranean and associated coastal regions of the world.
He is a Fellow of the Institute of Horticulture and an Associate of Honour of the Royal Horticultural Society.
Penelope Polglase
Trustee
Pen Polglase grew up in Sydney, Australia, on the edge of an unspoiled bushland area, which inspired a love of landscapes and gardens. This led to a career in Landscape Architecture in Sydney, San Francisco and London, working on projects ranging from public spaces to private gardens.
Pen has been living in Cornwall for the past 24 years with her Cornish husband, raising their four children, while being a trustee and chair of the Cornwall Gardens Trust, running a small tourism business, plus various voluntary roles and, more recently, freelance landscape and design work. She looks forward to promoting and sharing the work of the Historic Gardens Committee within the CGS..
Elizabeth Harris
Garden Visit Organiser
A childhood at her parents’ Cornish nursery sowed the seed of a lifelong passion for horticulture despite a deviation into agriculture at university and a subsequent career in soft furnishings!
As one of the self-drive visit organisers, Elizabeth Harris feels that she is on the education and entertainment arm of the CGS!