You may remember that the Rev. (and subsequently Dean) Samuel Reynolds Hole was synonymous with the St Ann’s Rose Show at St Ann’s Allotments. From attending his first show in the 1850’s he came to know the rose growing secrets perfected by the local working men in their glasshouses on the Hungerhill Gardens. He became very observant of the rose growers, noting that he “counted no man worthy of the name Gardener whose skin was always white and clean.”
The Rev. Hole had been the vicar at Caunton near Newark and on the 31 August 1904 the Newark Advertiser carried his obituary. It defined his vision of the working man:
…He had lived and worked so long with the artisans and labourers of Nottinghamshire that he was “convinced”, as he said, “that no section of the community has a more appreciative respect for honesty, justice, and truth than the genuine working-man.” …. We believe that the chief quality which gave Dean Hole his hold upon the working-class was not his humour, but his scorn of pretension and humbug…
However, there is evidence of his humour. Another obituary of 2 September 1904 in the Torquay Times said of him:
Dean Hole was a keen wit and an inimitable raconteur. He once said that if England were deprived of her apple tart, he would for the first time be compelled to contemplate emigration. “I should like,” he said, “to see a Minister of Horticulture, and degrees to match, such as D.D., Doctor of Damsons; M.A., Master of Apples.”
His acknowledgement of the drinking habits of the working man were also reflected in his knowledge of similar habits of the people further up the social ladder. From the same obituary it was recorded that:
The Dean told a good story about alcohol. One of the most beloved of Bishops was seated on a bench in some public grounds and was talking to a little maiden who came by, some seven years of age. “I must go now,” he said, “and you must help me to rise, but I’m afraid you’ll find me very heavy.” “Oh no,” she replied, “you’re not half so drunk as father often is.”
