Proposal to commemorate Quaker botanist

A York woman is hoping to create a heritage centre dedicated to Quaker botanist and philanthropist James Backhouse

by Tara Craig 21st August 2015

A York woman is hoping to create a heritage centre dedicated to Quaker botanist and philanthropist James Backhouse.

Jane Cullen wants to transform a disused park-keeper’s lodge in West Bank Park in York into a café and heritage centre. She is currently fundraising to cover the cost of a feasibility study.

The park is on the site of both the James Backhouse Plant Nurseries, once known around the world as ‘the Kew of the North’, and of West Bank House, Backhouse’s home.