Introduction
Until 1937 the land now occupied by Winkworth Arboretum was a relatively neglected corner of a Surrey estate. The steep slopes on the west side of the valley were considered unfit for cultivation and left as natural woodland, together with a few patches of forestry plantation and sweet chestnut coppice. On the other side of the valley, beyond two fishing lakes, the gentler, rolling hills of the North Downs formed the skyline to the north and east, making it difficult to imagine that central London lay only 30 miles away.

From Fisher-Rowe to Dr Fox
The land fell within the Thorncombe Estate, owned by the Fisher-Rowe family until 1937. Dr Wilfrid Fox, who lived at neighbouring Winkworth Farm, seized the opportunity to acquire a parcel of the landscape he had come to love. In a lecture to the Royal Horticultural Society 16 years later, he recalled the qualities that had attracted him to the place, describing 'a valley quite unspoiled, of pastoral and wooded character, patterned with hedgerows and abounding with wild flowers'. He also loved the impressive panoramic views of the distant countryside 'suddenly revealed' from the viewpoint on the crown of the west slope. Dr Fox was also attracted by the potential for assembling a large-scale collection of trees and shrubs within this semi-natural setting.

A love of trees
Wilfrid Fox was born in 1875. Outside his professional life, as a specialist in dermatology and working at two London hospitals, trees were his great interest. It was a passion that was well-established long before he started to create his own arboretum. In 1928 Dr Fox helped to found the Roads Beautifying Association, an organisation set up to improve the public environment by promoting ornamental street tree planting. In 1948 he was awarded the Victoria Medal of Honour, the Royal Horticultural Society's highest award, for his work in this field and over the years the arboretum has received many prizes from the RHS for its trees and shrubs.

Although Dr Fox started off as an amateur gardener and botanist, he quickly acquired a reputation as an authority in his subject. His greatest enthusiasm was reserved for Sorbus, the group of plants which includes the mountain ash and whitebeam.

©NTPL / Andrew Butler

A personal passion
Dr Fox's personal passion never became an exclusively private indulgence - he always wanted others to enjoy the arboretum and allowed public access from the outset. He was inspired by several other gardens and arboreta, notably Sheffield Park, Westonbirt and Exbury. When he turned to his own project, he set out with a general vision of what he hoped to achieve rather than with a detailed master plan. Few of Dr Fox's papers survive, but it seems that he acquired most of his plants from the nursery trade and through his wide circle of contacts in the gardening and botanical work. Among the most eminent of his friends was W.J. Bean, Curator at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It was his influence that encouraged Dr Fox to broaden the scope of his collection and rely less exclusively on plants for autumn colour.

The Trust takes over
In 1952 Dr Fox gave 25.3 hectares (62 acres), including the Upper Lake to the National Trust; a further 14.2 hectares (35 acres) with the Lower Lake were acquired by the Trust five years later. Not surprisingly, Dr Fox's influence on the arboretum did not end there: he chaired the Management Committee that was set up to oversee the care and continuing development of the place, until his death in 1962.