14 Facts About Constance Spry

Constance Spry was a British educator, florist and author in the mid-20th century.

Constance Spry married James Heppell Marr in 1910 and moved to Coolbawn, near Castlecomer.

Constance Spry gave up teaching in 1928, to open her first shop, "Flower Decoration", in 1929.

Constance Spry ransacked attics for unusual objects to use as containers and drew inspiration from the Dutch 17th- and 18th-century flower painters, while she popularized unusual plant materials to offset flowers, like pussy willow, weeds and grasses and ornamental kale.

When she opened a larger shop in South Audley Street in Mayfair in 1934, Constance Spry was already employing seventy people.

Constance Spry's company created the flower arrangements for two royal weddings: the November 1935 nuptials of the Duke of Gloucester to Lady Alice Christabel Montagu-Douglas-Scott, held in the private chapel of Buckingham Palace, and the more private wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor in June 1937.

When World War II began in 1939, Constance Spry resumed her teaching career and lectured to women all over Britain.

Constance Spry's company continued to provide floral decorations at weddings.

Constance Spry lived at Orchard Lea, across the road, and then over the stable block at the Place.

In 1953, Constance Spry was commissioned to arrange the flowers at Westminster Abbey and along the processional route from Buckingham Palace for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.

Constance Spry was appointed an OBE in the 1953 Coronation Honours.

At Winkfield Place, Constance Spry devoted years to the cultivation of particular varieties of antique roses, which she was instrumental in bringing back into fashion; David Austin's first rose introduction, in 1961, was named after her and is considered to be the foundation of his "English rose" series.

Constance Spry's books remained in print for many years after her death and her floristry business thrived until the early 2000s.

Shane Connolly, who designs flower arrangements for royal occasions as Constance Spry had done, curated an exhibition in 2021 at the Garden Museum, London; this celebration of Constance Spry's achievements and life made use of the extensive collection of her personal papers and records in the Royal Horticultural Society's Lindley Library.