Andrew Pettigrew, 1902

Biographical notes

Andrew's birth on 11 August 1833 is recorded in the St Quivox Parish Register, to parents William Petticrew and Elizabeth Kennedy. In the 1841 Census he is living with his father, William, a Shoemaker, his mother Elizabeth and three brothers in Content Street, Wallacetown which is a suburb of Ayr.

In the 1851 Census the family is located at 44, Boghall Row in Wallacetown and for the first time the profession of the 17 year old Andrew is recorded as that of Gardener. Biographical records reveal him working at Dalblair House and then Rozelle House (both in Ayr) during 1851. By the time of the 1861 Census, he had moved out of the family home and other sources record his employment at Rollinsons Nursery at Tooting, Surrey. Thus the 1861 Census records Andrew in lodgings at 104, Mitcham Road, Tooting.

Andrew married Agnes McLelland Allan in Tooting in 1861 (this is recorded on the birth certificate of their son Hugh Allan Pettigrew). It would seem likely that they would have known each other since their childhood as Agnes was also a native of Ayr and recorded in the 1841, 1851 and 1861 Census returns as living in Ayr.

After several different appointments taking him to various stately homes, nurseries, and other gardens in 1867 he was appointed as Head Gardener to the Marquis of Bute - a post he would hold for the rest of his life. He was initially based at the Marquis's mansion at Dumfries House (east of Ayr). The 1871 Census records him living in the Gardener's Cottage, Auchinleck (in the grounds of Dumfries House), with his wife Agnes, two daughters and two sons. In 1873, the Marquis moved him and his family to Cardiff to enable him to develop the gardens at Cardiff Castle and associated estates. He held this post until his death in 1903. Thus the 1881, 1991 and 1901 Census records show the Family living in the Gardener's Residence; Castle Gardens 2, North Road, Cardiff. Andrew died in March 1903 and is buried with the rest of his family in Cathays Cemetery, Cardiff.

Andrew's obituary records him working at Stoke Farm. This is possibly the Stoke Farm Reformatory for Boys, an enlarged farmhouse set in 27 acres of grounds near Stoke Prior in Worcestershire. Certified on 9th December 1854. Cessation of certification in 1925. Visible on the 1888 Ordnance Survey map but not recorded on the current OS map.