Dicksons' Nurseries.

The nurseries were started by two cousins, Francis R. Dickson and James Dickson who came down from Perth by stage-coach. In 1839 Mrs. Francis Dickson and husband are recorded as owning property on land which was to be part of the nurseries. In 1840 reference is found to P. & J. Dickson in our old (71) Book. They were claiming reassessment, which was allowed of the above property.It would seem that the nurseries started about this time. We read in the 1859 Directory of Francis Dickson, Nurseryman.

The nurseries lay mostly in Newton at first, but later extended as far as Upton Cross and reaching to the schools; they stretched over what is now the Bache Drive neighbourhood, and included a strip of a few acres on the Liverpool Road, opposite the Mental Hospital grounds. The site was extremely suitable, possessing its own well and good soil, and lying within easy reach of Chester station.

At first there were two businesses, which later became a limited company. The Dicksons was probable one of the largest general nursery businesses in Great Britain. The nurseries extended over 400 acres in Newton and Upton and employed between 300 and 400 men and women.

Wages - From 14/- per week for men. 7/- for women.

Hours Mon. - Fri. 6 a.m. - 6 p.m. Sat. 6 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Mr. Dickson used to drive his trap to the station every morning at 6 a.m., except Christmas Day and Sundays, to fetch the letters, of which there would be 800 - 1,000. In time the nurseries had their own special post bag and postman.

Two points of interest are:-

(1) Well-to-do Welsh farmers used to apprentice their sons to Dicksons in order to combine with their work the learning of the English language.

(2) Pedrog, a former Archdruid, worked in Dicksons^’ Nurseries as a young man.

In the 1950s part of the nurseries were built over, and the pleasant open space between the Bache Drive area and Newton, still known as the nurseries, is all that remains. (72)