Celebrating 45 Years of Millbrook!

This month, we're celebrating our 45th birthday, while on the 30th March, our Gravesend store will turn 30!
Amazing to think our founders, Dick and Sue, started Millbrook in 1979 with just a small piece of land, three leaky greenhouses and two small children in tow!  

45 years on, we’re proud that Millbrook is still very much an independent family business with Dick and Sue’s two daughters now leading the way - Tammy, as Managing Director, and Kirsty, creatively through her stunning illustrations and signage. Sue also remains an active member of the business through her role as our Chairman.

This month, we are looking back at some of Tammy's favourite Millbrook memories, with the help of some interesting (and some unseen) photos from the archives. You can also read more about the history of Millbrook here.

Millbrook opens its doors

The Wombles of Wimbledon Common officially open the Crowborough Garden Centre in March 1979. This photo of Mum and Dad was taken on our first weekend, plus a fine shot of our original shop in Crowborough - look at that merchandising! We had fun recreating the Womble photo on our 20th birthday, complete with me in the wheelbarrow.

Millbrook Disco Daffs

In the days before we had a marketing team, we had to think of ways to promote Millbrook to the local community. Cue the annual Crowborough Carnival float where my sister and I were roped in to dressing up in silly outfits.

Roman dig at Gravesend

In 1993, before the new Gravesend Centre building work started, we had a full archaeological dig to discover just what the Romans were doing there 2,000 years ago. Six Roman bodies were excavated and then reburied and some of the finds can still be seen in a case behind the tills at our Gravesend store.

Building work starts on Gravesend

Here is a picture of the frame going up at Gravesend when we started building the centre over 30 years ago. Amazingly, this is what the original plant area looked like.

Double Chelsea Success

Mum and Dad in their Gold medal-winning front garden at Chelsea in 1997, a few months before Dad passed away. I returned to Chelsea in 2002 with my own garden design to win a Silver Gilt award.

New beginnings

Here is one of my husband Ben and I the day we took over our Staplehurst centre, and a picture of my niece helping us to open the new plant area at Gravesend with a tree planting ceremony.

Do you have any Millbrook memories you would like to share? If so, please send us a message via our Facebook or Instagram pages.