Kings Seeds History History
E W King and Co Limited was founded by Ernest William King. Born in Coggeshall, Essex in 1869. Here’s a timeline showing our company history.
1793 - John K King was the first of the King family seed merchants. They started a seed business in Coggeshall in 1793. Over the next 100 years, JKK went on to be one of the foremost seed companies in Britain.
1888 - At the age of 19, having been refused employment at John K King’s business, Ernest W King decided to start his own seed company in 1888. His first premise was a small shop in a Market End, Coggeshall, just a stone thrown away from John K Kings. E W King soon moved to a larger shop with a warehouse.
1903–1904 - EWK bought 5 acres of land on Grange Hill, Coggeshall for the purpose of building a warehouse and offices.
1913 – EWK bought Pound Farm and our current premises, Monks Farm, both in Kelvedon.
1914 – EWK was now farming 100 acres and employing 70 full time staff and up to 100 seasonal staff.
1920 – John K Kings company had fallen on hard times, following a setback during World War I, and a fire which destroyed his warehouse in Reading. Although EWK was refused a job in 1888, by JKK, EWK was asked to take over this company as managing director.
1924-1925 – EWK built a new warehouse next to Kelvedon Train Station to have access to the main train lines from London, enabling him to have easier ability to distribute his goods.
1926 – EWK bought Bertrand W Deal, Seed of Kelvedon.
1926 – Now farming up to 1500 acres of land.
1930 – Ernest William King died. Upon his death in 1930, his company had grown one hundred-fold.
He left £30,000 (the value of £2.7million in todays money) to local charities.
The major part of EWK’s company was passed onto his godson and shares left to prominent employees. The company is still fully independent and still in the hands of the original shareholders families.
1987 – The company moved into new, modern premises at Monks Farm. In recent years, the company has invested heavily in up-to-date packaging machinery, enabling us to become more efficient and able to take on more work as our business expands.
2013 – Our 125 anniversary display was awarded a gold medal at the Chelsea flower show!
Unlike a multitude of British seed companies which declined and went out of business, or were taken over by multi-nationals, E W King still thrives by supplying quality seeds to home gardeners and commercial growers.
EW King still maintains many open pollinated vegetable seed varieties, and remains and produces one of the largest collections of Sweet Pea varieties offered via mail order. Sweet Peas were Ernests favourite flowers and he often had a bloom in his buttonhole.
Essex, The Seed Growing County
In the late 19th and first half of the 20th century, Essex grew more seed than almost all of the other counties combined.
There are many reasons for Essex being the seed growing county;
1. It is the driest county in the UK.
2. Varying soil types to suit different crops.
3. Access to the main line railway running though the centre of the country, close to a number of major seed growers.
Kings Seeds was established in 1888 in Kelvedon, Essex, UK. Since then, we have become a leading seed supplier with a comprehensive range of vegetable seeds, flower seeds, herb seeds, organic seeds and gardening sundries.
Essex has been the centre of English seed production for many centuries. Its climate and rainfall are ideal for raising plants and taking them through the growing cycle to obtain the highest quality of seed.
We supply seed to commercial growers of flowers and vegetables, wholesale to large users of seed and to the home gardener through our seed packets. We are now unique in that Kings is the last surviving wholesale horticultural seed merchant in the country.
We are also Britain's biggest sweet pea producer for the home gardener. Many of our sweet peas are grown on our own farm in Essex, where we select an maintain seed stock. We have over 100 varieties of sweet pea seeds available to buy online.
At certain times of the year, we also have garlic bulbs, seed potatoes, shallot and onion sets, flower bulbs, soft fruit and fruit trees and vegetable plug plants available to buy too.
There have been many changes over the hundred years of our company's existence and there will be many more in the next hundred but quality of the highest standard is one thing that has never changed at Kings and never will in the future.
Browse our online website and take a look at our full range of products. If you would prefer, you can always request a copy of our gardening catalogue to be sent out via the post!
Why order from
Kings Seeds?
Our Range
We offer you one of the greatest ranges of vegetable seeds, and flower seeds online in the UK; from garden staples to more unusual and exotic seeds, we're sure you'll love browsing through our catalogue. Your choices are also extended with our sister company Suffolk Herbs which has an amazing range of organic seeds.
Seed Quality
Over the past 135 years, one thing remains the same at Kings. We still offer the finest quality of seeds at 'real value for money' backed up by quality service. Our seeds are tested in our own well-equipped, in-house laboratory by qualified analysts for germination, vigour and purity. This is also backed up by our 'No Quibble' guarantee. You can also talk to our friendly experts who can offer you growing advice, if needed.
Experience
After 135 years in business, we're still going strong. We are now unique in that Kings is the last surviving wholesale horticultural seed merchant in the country. We've also many awards over the years.
Kings Seeds won "GOLD" for 'Best fruit and veg seed range' and 'Best online retailer' in 2021, and "GOLD" in all nominated categories at the “Great British Growing Awards 2020”!
