The Groombridge & District Horticultural Society was formed in November 1930 by Mr McDonald who was the head gardener at Burrswood and he was the first chairman. The president was Col. Royds from Glen Andred and the patron was Sir Derek Watson from Burrswood.
The first Annual Show, in a marquee on the cricket ground, was held in August 1931 and for many years was held in conjunction with the Children's Sports Day on August Bank Holiday.
The Society was suspended during WW2 and restarted in June 1945 and from 1946 the shows were held in the old King Edward VII Institute, now the Groombridge village hall.
During the 1950's the Summer Show started for sweet peas and roses, and in 1958 the Spring
Show started under the guidance of Mr Herbert Barr who was a prominent
raiser and exhibitor of daffodils.
"Inter Society" meetings and
competitions began in 1963, between five neighbouring village societies, and
continued until recently. The
Society also competed successfully in the Luxford Cup competition and after a
break of several years is again the holder of the cup.
The Autumn
Show grew out of chrysanthemum competitions which were held at the November
monthly meetings and started in about 1978.
Recently the format and timing of the shows has been altered in an effort to make them more relevant to modern life styles and to encourage "weekend gardeners" to have a go, and a variety of monthly talks and visits arranged.
From 2001 the name of the Society was changed to the Groombridge Horticultural Society & Garden Club which we hope now more accurately reflects the interests of our 270 members and vice-presidents.