Squire’s Twickenham Marks 60 Years with Celebration Tea Party
Squire’s Garden Centre in Twickenham celebrated its 60 year milestone this week with a special Anniversary Tea Party for distinguished guests, customers and representatives of the centre’s Charity of the Year, Friends of Anstee Bridge, were also in attendance.
Guests were treated to a special afternoon tea expertly prepared by the Squire’s Twickenham Café Bar team and hosted by Colin Squire OBE and his daughter, Sarah. Guests included Deputy Mayor of Richmond, Cllr Fiona Sacks, Munira Wilson MP, as well as representatives from the Friends of Teddington Memorial Hospital, The Teddington Society and Friends of Anstee Bridge. The event also served to celebrate the relationship between the garden centre and the community it serves, with many regular and long-standing customers attending.
During the afternoon, Sarah Squire spoke about the history of the company which was founded in the Borough in 1936 and also of the origins of the garden centre, which her father, Colin Squire, opened as the company’s very first garden centre in 1964. At the time garden centres were a novelty and it was one of only a handful of garden centres across the country. Now with 16 centres across Surrey, Sussex, Berkshire, North and West London, Squire’s continues to be a family-owned business, proud to serve the local community.
Katherine Greening, Head of Anstee Bridge, the centre’s chosen Charity of the Year, delivered a short speech about the charity’s work and their valued partnership with the Squire’s Twickenham team. Attendees enjoyed music from a talented local harpist, Rebeca Jones, and the charity raffle raised £300 for Friends of Anstee Bridge.
Guests were also invited to write down memories of their visits to Squire’s Twickenham over the decades. These special cards will be placed on the centre’s ‘memory tree’, which will be one of the centre’s anniversary features during the year of celebrations. Over the coming months, visitors to the centre will also be invited to complete a card adding their recollections of the centre over the last 60 years.
Sarah Squire, Chairman of Squire’s Garden Centres, comments: “I would like to extend my thanks and appreciation to those who attended our anniversary event, which made it a wonderful afternoon for my father and I to celebrate this milestone. Loyal, local customers attended, many of whom have extremely fond memories of Squire’s at Twickenham over the decades.
“With music, memories and wonderful food, the afternoon truly illustrated the role the centre has in the local community and just how much we value the special connection with our customers and the charity our team support.”
Squire’s Twickenham – Background
The business was founded by D.J.Squire in 1936 in Twickenham, initially as a nursery and landscape gardening business which developed into one of the first garden centre businesses in the UK, when Squire’s Twickenham opened in the 60s. The company has become one of the best success stories in the industry, remaining in the Squire family under the leadership first of D.J.’s son, Colin Squire OBE – who is still actively involved in the business – and, today, Colin’s daughter Sarah Squire, who is Chairman.
Cont’d …
The business is proud that 85% of plants are sourced from UK nurseries. In 2022, Squire’s acquired Barnsfold Nurseries, based in Horsham and a long-standing supplier of bedding plants to the business. This has marked a return to offering more homegrown plants. A continued drive for customer excellence prevails, with highly qualified and experience horticultural staff to hand to help with plant-related questions. Customer can shop online for local delivery within a 5-7 mile radius of their local garden centre.
Above: (from left) Deputy Mayor of Richmond, Cllr Fiona Sacks, Colin Squire OBE., Chairman Emeritus, and Sarah Squire, Chairman, Squire’s Garden Centres
