Sweet peas, suffragettes and showmen - Ren Dee

The History of the Royal Horticultural Society and its distinguished accomplishments in the fields of horticulture and gardening are already well documented. However, what has never been fully documented or revealed before now, is the rich, fascinating and important history of the non-horticultural events, and those involved with them that have taken place in their Halls since the opening of the first one, on Vincent Square, by King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra on 22 July 1904. The second Hall, an Art-Deco marvel of its day, built on Elverton Street was opened by HRH Princess Mary on 26 June 1928. The paradox is that these Halls, although built specifically for the RHS, have never simply been repositories for their own regular flower, fruit and vegetable shows. More especially, they have been home to a diverse mix of over 7,000, historically, politically, socially and culturally important events that mirrored life and its continuous change in London and Great Britain through 10 decades up to the present day. My book, therefore, concentrates on this aspect of their, hitherto, unrevealed use; the events that were staged in them; the extraordinary people involved with them, and our ability to observe and note through them, as catalysts, the changing face of the way we have lived, thought and developed over this period.