Rose garden the 'perfect tribute' to adventurer

A sensory rose garden has been unveiled at a country house in Rotherham in memory of a local adventurer.

Margaret Vickers, who died in 2023 aged 90, was a "passionate" gardener and motorsports enthusiast - and was believed to be one of the first people in Rotherham to own a Vespa scooter.

Her partner Audrey Morris donated £30,000 to create a garden in her honour at Wentworth Woodhouse, a place they "loved to visit".

Audrey, 80, said the restored 18th-Century walled area, opened ahead of the RHS Flower Show later this month, was the "perfect tribute" to Margaret.

Herringthorpe-born Margaret was an avid hiker, climbing the highest peaks in England, Scotland and Wales.

She was a member of the Sheffield Scooter Club and helped to launch the Rotherham group - and was also a motorbike and sidecar racer.

Audrey and Margaret became partners in the 1970s, later setting up a typesetting business, and were together for more than 50 years before Margaret's death.

Audrey said: "It looks wonderful and as the roses mature, it will become even more beautiful and more heavily scented.

"I will go and sit there to remember Margaret and watch the roses grow."

The Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation Trust said the restoration had turned the "overgrown space into a place of beauty and tranquility".

CEO Sarah McLeod said: "Audrey's generous gift meant we could restore one of our garden's prettiest and oldest features.

"Their colours and scent make the garden an unmissable summer destination for all rose-lovers."

The RHS Flower Show will run for the first time at Wentworth Woodhouse from 16-25 July.

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