Allotment Winners Celebrate Ryder Cup Glory!

It was an absolute pleasure to host the Cottonmill & Nunnery Allotment Association’s Annual Summer Show prize giving today (Saturday 18th January).

Members of the allotment association came together to congratulate this years winners Erica and Scott Bailey who were awarded (for the third time) our glorious Ryder Cup.

Adam Wigglesworth, Director, said; “We’re delighted to present Erica and Scott with this magnificent cup in recognition of their win, and we look forward to continuing our strong working relationship with the Cottonmill & Nunnery Association in 2020”

Thank you to the members of the CNAA for always reminding us of the special friendships that community gardening can grow.

The History of our Ryder Cup

This silver cup has quite an interesting history – it is inscribed as the St. Albans Horticultural Society cup and was presented in 1931 by Leonard Ryder, brother of Samuel Ryder, the famous Seed Merchant of St. Albans. When St. Albans Horticultural Society folded the cup was given to Aylett Nurseries for safe keeping. In 1994 the Cottonmill & Nunnery Allotment Association (CNAA) was established, supporting allotment tenants on the Cottonmill, Nunnery & Sopwell Mill sites in St. Albans. The chairman of CNAA was looking for something to award it’s Summer Show winners, he approached Aylett Nurseries who offered to lend the cup as the prize. A wooden base was added for inscription of the winners names and since then the cup has been awarded annually at a presentation held here at Aylett Nurseries.