J. J. Sexby - Knowledge (XXG)

303: 384:) in 2005 by Hazelle Jackson. Jackson's assessment of Sexby is that he had a profound influence on the style and quality of London's parks. She notes that the measure of his success is that he set standards in public park design and management worldwide that still prevail. Nevertheless, he is a shadowy figure in the annals of garden history, not even rating a mention in 1315: 131:. The LCC established a Parks Department, led by four dedicated parks officers: a Principal Officer, a Chief Surveyor, a Forester and a Gardener. Sexby was appointed as the Chief Surveyor. By 1892 a Chief Officer for Parks position had been created and Sexby was appointed to the role; he had a staff of a thousand. 171:

was acquired in 1890, having previously been a farm. It was opened in 1894, Sexby having laid out an artificial lake, an American Garden, a Japanese Garden and an Old English Garden. All of these remain in existence, the Old English Garden having been renamed Sexby Garden in honour of its

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in 1892. In 1895 he was made a Honorary Lieutenant-Colonel. He resigned from the Volunteer Corps in 1897; on retirement he was entitled to retain his honorary rank. The 19th Surrey Rifle Volunteer Corps was renamed the 8th Surrey Rifle Volunteer Corps and then, pursuant to the

1377:(2005-2006) Vol 11: 42-53, p 42. Sexby's life is so poorly documented, that even Jackson, in her appreciation of him, states that he was born in 1848, which was the year after his birth, and erroneously records the year of his appointment as an honorary Lieutenant-Colonel. 69:

His father died aged 48 in 1866, his mother the following year aged 46. He then lived with an aunt. When letters of administration were granted to Sexby in 1868 for his mother's personal estate and effects, his address was given as 46 Thorne Road, South Lambeth.

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He died in 1924, and probate was granted to William Edward Osborn. At the time of his death his address was Melbourne House, 79 Worple Road, Wimbledon, and he was described as the Late Lieut-Col John James Sexby, 4th VB Queen's Royal West Surrey Regiment, VD.

82:, a short distance from Thorne Road.) He was made a Second Lieutenant in 1878 and Lieutenant the following year. In 1881 he was made a captain. By then the 19th Surrey Corps was called the 8th Surrey Corps. In 1886 he was made a Major. He was awarded the 263:. The LCC contributed half of the purchase price, and Sexby laid out the park, which was opened in 1908. Sexby's design included enhancing an existing ornamental pond. Over time this became derelict and abandoned, but was restored in 2012. 302: 252:

was acquired in 1904, and opened in 1907. Sexby's design included an Old English Garden, an oval duck pond, a bandstand and a bowling green. The bowling green has been replaced by a garden, but the other features

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from 1892 to 1909, and was responsible for the creation of many of London's late Victorian and Edwardian parks. He is invariably described as Lt-Col JJ Sexby, although all of his military service was in the

189: 155:, and refined by Sexby as one of his earliest LCC projects in 1890. Sexby was responsible for the design of the American Gardens. The rhododendrons and azaleas in the American Gardens were popular, and 100: 246:

was acquired in 1904, and opened the following year. Sexby designed the park with an emphasis on paths and woodland. These survive, along with a bandstand and bowling green.

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In 1865 Sexby was appointed as Honorary Assistant-Quartermaster in the 19th Surrey Rifle Volunteer Corps. (In that year the 19th Surrey Rifle Volunteer Corps acquired the

54:, in 1847, the son of John Sexby, a builder, and his wife Mary Susannah Hobden. He was baptised on 15 Aug 1847 at St Mary-at-Lambeth (somewhat appropriately, now the 898: 165:

was presented to the LCC in 1890 by the owners of the estate in which it sat. It opened in 1891, with Sexby designing serpentine paths around the slopes of the hill.

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In the 1871 and 1881 censuses Sexby's occupation is given as surveyor. In around 1870 Sexby became a surveyor in the Superintending Architect's department of the

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By the late 1880s, the MBW had been mired in a number of corruption scandals and, in 1889, it was replaced by the London County Council as a result of the

228:, acquired piecemeal by the LCC from 1892 to 1901, following which Sexby created an Old English Garden in the walled garden of the former Brockwell Hall. 1037: 234:

was formerly allotment gardens. Acquired by the LCC in 1898, it was opened in 1903. Sexby's design included playing fields, and an ornamental garden.

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was acquired in 1898, and opened the following year. It is on the site of a former estate, which itself had been designed at different stages by

96: 1294: 1079: 1408: 1252: 1058: 1003: 877: 822: 762: 1273: 1142: 1100: 198:, previously a market garden, was acquired by the LCC in 1884, but not opened until 1897. Sexby was responsible for the layout of the park. 982: 961: 115:. In 1880 he qualified as a chartered surveyor. Sexby's earliest park designs were undertaken during his time with the MBW, including 1460: 325: 83: 22: 1455: 391:

The only named memorial to Sexby is his Old English Garden in Peckham Rye Park, renamed in his honour. The Old English Garden in

260: 485: 429: 294:. Over time it was expanded, and, after the 1921 extension, an Old English Garden, in the Sexby style, was opened in 1931. 39: 1450: 178:, laid out by Sexby in 1894–95 on the site of a public garden of 1875, in turn on the former Bethnal Green Poor's Lands. 739:(2005-2006) Vol 11: 42-53, p 45, quoting LCC records of his appointment in 1889, which referred to 19 years of service. 112: 145:. Sexby's design included an Old English Garden, later renamed the Scented Garden and now known as the Walled Garden. 141:, opened at the end of the MBW era in 1888 on the site of a former estate, the grounds of which had been laid out by 79: 29:) (15 July 1847 – 10 May 1924) was a British civil servant who served as the first Chief Officer for Parks for the 275:; his occupation is given as 'Retired Lt-Colonel'. After that, there is no record of him until his death in 1924. 843: 243: 128: 215: 711: 268: 192:. The park was acquired and opened by the LCC in 1896; Sexby's design included a bandstand, since demolished. 282:

in 1912, soon after he retired, and in 1913 in the former walled kitchen garden at the Rookery, adjacent to

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was opened in 1903, and laid out by Sexby with a lake and a drinking fountain, both which no longer exist.

181: 66:. The address in the baptism register is 62 Vauxhall Walk; his father’s occupation is given as carpenter. 30: 364:

Sexby was a Freemason; he joined in 1897, and his occupation is given as Chief Officer for Parks, LCC.

1440: 1435: 381: 388:. The Garden Museum's Archive produces no results when the term ‘Sexby’ is entered as a search. 338:

London Parks and Open Spaces: Notes on the Acquisition of Parks under the Control of the Council

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