In 1608 King James I had a Mulberry Garden planted on an area of approximately 17,500 square yards to the north of the present Palace in an attempt to foster the cultivation of silk worms, which had been successful on the continent.
It is not known whether the idea of a Mulberry Garden was James I’s or a suggestion made to him by a one William Stallenge. The only beneficiary of this ill-fated plan, Stallenge printed and published a book entitled ‘Instructions for the planting and Increase of Mulberry Trees, Breeding of Silkworms and the Making of Silk’. James I then instructed the Deputy-Lieutenants of Counties to require landowners: “to purchase and plant, 10,000 mulberry trees, to be delivered to purchasers in March or April next, at the rate of 6 shillings per thousand...”
On the 5th of November 1609 a payment of £935 was made to Stallenge for “the charge of four acres taken in for His Majesty’s use, near to his palace of Westminster, for the planting of mulberry trees, together with the charge of walling, bevelling and planting thereof with mulberry trees etc. according to an estimate thereof, subscribed by the surveyors of His Majesty’s works, and the said William Stallenge”.
From all parts of Europe thousands of mulberry trees were imported and planted. On the 15th of May 1611 Mr Stallenge submitted a bill of £258. 2s. 5d. for the provision of mulberry leaves, sweet woods and for charges of silk-worms committed to his care. No dividend was forthcoming by 1613, in fact there was another payment to Stallenge of £154. 10s. 11d.
By this time it was evident that this venture was a failure and public opinion was turning against the concept. William Stallenge continued to maintain the mulberry garden even after the death of the King in 1625. His nephew, Jasper Stallenge followed him and in 1628 after Charles I had lost heart, a grant was made to Lord Aston and he took over the running of the garden.
There is no record why the silkworm project failed, there or in other places where James I had them planted. It is often said that that the trees planted were black mulberries. The ‘worms’, can feed on that but their normal diet is the leaves of the white mulberry. These will grow in England, but do less well.
In any event it must have taken some years for the plants to settle down and to grow enough leaves for their own nourishment, let alone with enough to spare for silkworms. There is an old mulberry near Grosvenor Gate that has long borne a label “Planted in 1609 when the mulberry garden was formed by James I”, which it has since proved to be quite incorrect. The only other ‘aged’ tree is at the other end of the garden and was probably planted in 1902.
The Mulberry Garden itself was in existence for a number of years and latterly became a pleasure ground before being swept away in the rebuilding of the house. No original trees from that time exist here now, but there is still one of James I’s original plantings to be found at Charlton House; a scion from which has recently been planted in the west section of Buckingham Palace Garden.
Background to the Collection
The idea of holding a collection was conceived mainly from this history and considered fitting given such an interesting story. A number of years of work commenced with the searching out of trees initially from British nurseries and latterly more further afield. At the point of applying for Collection status there were 27 different varieties planted.
The collection was awarded provisional National Collection status in October 2002 and granted Full Status in August 2005. Most of the collection is housed at Buckingham Palace whilst a few are held at Kensington Palace and Marlborough House. The mirror collection at the Royal Gardens, Windsor is performing well with good growth all round.
The collection is reported annually to Plant Heritage where the information submitted amounts to the heights of the trees and the widest spreads. It have been noted that some specimens are beginning to lose their youthful vigour and are settling down to slower and more sustained growth. General growth habit is healthy and there have been no signs of significant pest or disease attacks, although a couple have some dead wood beginning to appear. Many plants have retained clean, glossy leaves throughout the season.
The number of taxa planted in the various gardens is now 35, made up of 9 species (inc. subspecies) and 24 cultivars. The new accession this year has been Morus mongolica received from John Fielding. All plants in the collection are currently labelled distinctly with the Plant Heritage logo to identify the individual specimens in the collection.
The trees are planted throughout the garden to blend in the naturalistic landscape and so not to give the impression of a formal collection. By far the heaviest cropper is the Black Mulberry (Morus nigra) with its large, rather delicate deep red or black fruits. The juice is particularly indelible as anyone who has picked them will know, but there is good argument to suggest that each mulberry variety, like grape varieties has it own unique flavour.
