Our History
Over eighty-five years ago David Squire, Head Groundsman and gardener at the Police Orphanage in Twickenham, was made redundant. With a young family to support he set up his own business, and that business has grown into a thriving, family-owned garden centre group which now comprises 16 garden centres, and 16 Cafe Bars.
Today DJ’s son Colin is Chairman Emeritus of the company and continuing the family tradition Sarah, Colin’s daughter, is Chairman.
When the company was founded in 1935 our main activities were landscaping small domestic gardens. During the 1939/45 war, all landscape activities ceased and the nurseries were turned over to vegetable production. For a short period we built a number of air-raid shelters, Anderson shelters, in the grounds of houses in the Twickenham and Sunbury areas. During the 1960′s people became ever more interested in gardening for themselves rather than employing a gardener.
In response to this we opened our first garden centre in Sixth Cross Road, Twickenham (Inset Right), in 1964. Over the years horticultural retailing has become the most important part of our business and we now also have garden centres at Shepperton, Badshot Lea, Hersham, Chertsey, Woking, West Horsley, Crawley, Reigate, Long Ditton, Washington, Stanmore, Milford, Cobham, Frensham and Wokingham.
Over eighty-five years on, and with many changes in the direction and nature of the business, we still hold the same core values. To provide the local communities in which we operate with superb quality plants and gardening products as well as attractive ranges of garden furniture, BBQs and gifts, and a truly enjoyable garden centre experience.
Our Story
1936 – D.J. Squire incorporated his landscaping and gardening business having been made redundant from the Police Orphanage in Twickenham.
1939 – Squire’s nurseries were turned over to war time food production.
1945 – Towards the end of World War II, prisoners of war and land girls worked in the nurseries.
1950 – D.J. Squire built up the landscaping business and by the end of the 1950s had a full fleet of vans and a large team of skilled craftsmen.
1964 – Colin Squire opened our first garden centre at Twickenham, which was one of only a handful across the country at the time.
1975 – A rose nursery at Shepperton was acquired and we opened a garden centre on the site.
1984 – Hersham was added to the growing list of centres and built around old farm buildings.
1989 – Chertsey was the next centre to join the Squire’s group.
1990 – A site in Woking was acquired.
1993 – Our Twickenham garden centre was rebuilt.
1996 – Moving into Berkshire, the Windsor centre joined Squire’s, together with West Horsley near Leatherhead with a Herbaceous & Bedding Plant Nursery.
1998 – A devastating fire badly damaged Hersham which had to be largely rebuilt.
2000 – Charlie Dimmock officially opened the new Hersham centre. Centres at Reigate and Crawley joined the group.
2003 – We built a new state of the art garden centre at a site in Long Ditton near Kingston that was officially opened by Kim Wilde.
2005 – The site at Crawley was redeveloped and a brand new centre emerged, opened by Bob Flowerdew.
2006 – A large garden centre at Badshot Lea near Farnham joined the group, to become a flagship store.
2010 – Old buildings were knocked down at Shepperton to make way for a stunning new centre.
2011 – Squire’s acquired 3 additional sites from the Shoots Group, extending operations to Washington, Stanmore and Cobham.
2013 – The latest addition to the group is Milford, previously ‘Secretts’.
2015 – Squire’s celebrated exhibiting every year for 25 years at the RHS Hampton Court Flower Show. Our show garden ‘Urban Oasis’ won a Silver Gilt Medal.
2015 – Colin Squire was awarded one of the highest honours in the gardening industry – the Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) Pearson Memorial Medal.
2016 – Twickenham won GCA Ruxley Rose Award for the best plant department in the UK.
2016 – Squire’s won a Gold Medal at RHS Hampton Court Flower Show for ‘Squire’s Anniversary Garden’.
2017 – Opened our Chertsey with Café Bar centre following a rebuild.
2017 – We refurbished and extended our Hersham centre, including a stylish new Café Bar. Our Hersham centre was also awarded the Garden Centre Association’s ‘Best Garden Centre’ and ‘Best Restaurant’ in the South Thames Area 2017.
2017 – Squire’s was awarded the ‘Best Garden centre’ accolade at the Express Home and Living Awards 2017.
2018 – Charlie Dimmock officially re-opened our Woking centre following a rebuild.
2018 – A site in Frensham was acquired.
2019 – After 30 years as Chairman and more than five decades in the business, Colin Squire OBE takes on the role of Chairman Emeritus and Sarah Squire is appointed Chairman.
2019 – A site in Wokingham, Berkshire, was acquired.
2021 – Squire’s celebrates its 85th anniversary. To honour the occasion, each of our centres created an anniversary garden, for customers to enjoy.
2022 – Squire’s acquires Barnsfold Nurseries, based in Horsham and a long-standing supplier of bedding plants to the business.
