A History of the John Innes Centre

A History of the John Innes 

Centre 

Kenneth Dick, Librarian

Who Was John Innes 

• John Innes was born 

on 6 th January 1829 

at Hampstead 

• John Innes died a 

bachelor on the 8 th 

August 1904 at 

Merton

What did John Innes do? 

• The Innes family business owned sugar 

plantations in Jamaica and imported rum 

into England 

• All members of the family were supporters 

of the campaign against slavery in the 

West Indies 

• Business interests in Jamaica were sold

What did John Innes do? 

• City of London Real Property Company 

• Purchased land in Merton park in 1864 

and created Merton Park Estate Company 

• Purchased Manor house at Merton with 

about 12 acres of land

Merton Manor House

The Bequest 

• Most of the grounds of the Manor House 

were to be converted into a public park 

for the benefit of the residents of the 

parishes of Merton and Morden. 

• The Manor House and 2 acres of ground 

were set aside from this park.

The Bequest 

• School of horticulture 

– “technical instruction in the principles of the 

science and art of horticulture and the 

application thereof to the industry or 

employment of gardening” 

– “provide the training mental or physical 

necessary for the above purpose” 

•Or 

• Public museum for the collection of 

paintings and other works of art.

The Bequest 

• John Innes appointed 3 trustees to carry 

out the will 

– Frederick George Courthorpe 

– Charles Clare Scott K.C. 

– William Ernest Reid Innes 

• Board of Agriculture learnt of the bequest 

through the newspapers

The Bequest and the 

Scheme 

• 1906 – Trustees asked the Charity 

Commissioners to prepare a scheme 

• 1908 – Scheme is approved by both 

Trustees and Board of Agriculture 

•12 th January 1909 – Scheme comes into 

force 

• 1910 John Innes Horticultural Institution 

Opens

The Scheme 

• School in which practical working 

gardeners could be trained 

• Fruit-breeding research station 

• “Institution, for the promotion of 

horticultural instruction, experiment and 

research”

The Scheme 

• Advisory Council membership 

– 3 Trustees, 2 members appointed by the 

Board of Agriculture 

– 1 Member from each of Oxford, Cambridge 

and London Universities, Imperial College of 

Science and Technology, Royal Horticultural 

Society, Fruiterer’s Company and the National 

Fruit Growers’ Federation

Purpose of the Institute 

• “The promotion of Investigation and Research of a 

Practical and Scientific Nature having reference to the 

growth of trees and plant generally, but especially of fruit 

trees, shrubs, fruit, vegetables and flowers and that the 

imparting of practical and scientific knowledge to those 

engaged or desiring to be engaged, in the industry or 

employment of horticulture, should be made to follow 

incidentally from, and to be dependent upon, the 

operations required to effect that primary object…. We 

are also of the opinion that the practice of scientific plant 

breeding and the endeavour to improve existing varieties 

and to introduce new ones, is inseparably bound up with 

the practical investigation and research which should 

form the object of the Institution.”

Purpose of the Institute 

• John Innes School for Gardeners 

– 6 two-year studentships were awarded to men 

who had already completed four years of 

practical gardening experience 

– Many of these students went on to become 

successful gardener’s or returned to the 

Institution as scientists in later times

A Key person 

• Sir David Prain (1857 – 

1944) 

• Was instrumental in the 

John Innes Horticultural 

Institution working in the 

field of plant genetics 

• 1 st Chair of the Advisory 

Council

Key Staff (1) 

• William Bateson (1861 – 

1926) 

• 1 st Director of the JIHI 

• Coined the word 

‘genetics’ to cover the 

study of heredity and 

variation 

• Established the actual 

lines of research within 

JIHI 

• Genetical Society

Bateson’s Women 

• Unusually for the time Bateson was a 

supporter of female academic work and 

research employing a number of women 

scientists within JIHI 

– Dorothy Mary Cayley 

– Caroline Pellew 

– Dorothea de Winton 

– Alice Elizabeth Gairdener 

– Muriel Wheldale

Key Staff (2) 

• M B Crane (1890 – 

1983) 

• Was appointed as 

pomologist in 1928 

and became first 

head of Pomology 

department in 1937

Key Staff (3) 

• C D Darlington (1903 

– 1981) 

• 1927 Appointed 

Institute Cytologist 

• 1936 Appointed Head 

of Cytology 

Department 

• 1939 Appointed 3 rd 

Director of JIHI

Darlington’s Work 

• Study of Chromosomes 

• Stressed the importance of chromosomes 

to genetics 

• Publication of ‘Recent advances in 

cytology’ and ‘Chromosomes and Plant 

Breeding’ in 1932 saw some refer to 

Darlington as the ‘Newton of cytology’

Key Staff (4) 

• A D Hall (1864 – 

1942) 

• 2 nd Director JIHI 

• Expert in soils, 

agriculture and tulips

Key Staff (5) 

• J B S Haldane (1892 

– 1964) 

• Worked on linkage in 

Primula sinensis and 

Antirrhinum majus 

• Popularising science

Key Staff (6) 

• W J C Lawrence 

(1899 – 1985) 

• Ambition was to be a 

geneticist 

• Glasshouse design 

• Plant physiology 

• John Innes Composts

John Innes Composts 

• Developed after the failure of the 1933 Primula 

sinensis crop 

• Developed to provide a reliable and repeatable 

compost soil for experimental work 

• The Institute has never produced the composts 

commercially or benefited financially from their 

production

Key Staff – Visiting 

Workers 

• N I Vavilov (1887 – 1943) 

• Visiting worker at JIHI 1913-1914 

• Importance to Soviet agriculture and genetics 

• Studied and wrote on the origin of cultivated 

plants

Key Staff (7) 

• K S Dodds (1912 – 

1987) 

• 4 th Director of JIHI 

• Potatoes were his 

primary area of 

research

Key Staff (8) 

• R Markham (1916 – 

1979) 

• 5 th Director of JII 

• Virus research

Key Staff (9) 

• H W Woolhouse 

(1932 – 1996) 


(1980 – 1987) 

• Oversaw a significant 

expansion in the size 

of the Institute

Key Staff (10) 

• R D Flavell (19 – ) 


(1988 – 1998) 

• Joined the Institute 

from the Plant 

Breeding Institute

Key staff - Summary 

Merton 1910-1948 

JOHN INNES CENTRE TIMELINE 

Bayfordbury 

1948-1967 

Colney 1967- 

W. Bateson 

1910-1926 

AD Hall 

1926-1939 

CD Darlington 

1939-1953 

K.S. Dodds 

1954-1966 

R.Markham 

1967-1979 

H.Woolhouse 

1980-1987 

R.D. Flavell 

1988-1998 

Chris Lamb 

1999- 

E Cheeseman 

1966 

Mike Gale 

1998-9 

John Innes Horticultural 

Institution 1910-1960 

John Innes Institute 

1960-1994 

John Innes Centre 

1994 - present 

1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

What did the Institute do 

- 1911 

• Plants worked on: 

– Primula Sinensis, Capsicum, Peas, Plums, 

Strawberries, Begonia, Cabbages, Sugar Beet, 

Antirrhinum, Calceolaria, Nicotiana, Apple, Roses, 

Black Currants, Tropaeolum 

• Other work: 

– Cyanide fumigation, soil sterilisation, fruit-rot 

suppression through fumigation, mildew susceptibility 

in roses, thrip life histories, specimen identification, 

Lace-wings life histories and habits, grease-banding 

for winter moth


- 1938 


– Primula sinensis, Pisum, Lathyrus, Maize, Lotus, 

Tolmeia, Solanum, Verbena, Tropaeolum, Dahlia, 

Streptocarpus, Papaver, Aquilegia, Tulipa, Fritillaria, 

Campanula, Prunus, Pyrus, Rubus, Fragaria, British 

Flora generally 

• Other work: 

– Grasshoppers, fruit colour in Prunus, coloration in 

autumn and spring leaves, anthocyanin distribution, 

pollination and fruit formation, soil sterilisation and 

composting


- 1951 

• 1951 Plants worked on: 

– Tomatoes, Solanum, Pears, Potatoes, Plums, Sweet Corn, Silage Corn, 

Swede, Kale, Kohlrabi, Cabbage, Turnip, Apples, Raspberries, 

Cherries, Compositae, Cruciferae, Iberis, Labiatae, Narcissus, 

Oenothera, Antirrhinum, Roses, Primula sinensis, Chrysanthemum, 

Maize, Trillium, Muscari, Vicia faba, Allium, Hyacinthus, Tradescantia, 

Agropyron, Scilla 

• 1951 Research Work: 

– Leaf-mould resistance, Tomato hybrid vigour, Cyto-Ecology, Fruit 

breeding, Breeding systems, Mutation, Controlled room tests, 

Interspecific relations, Genetics and chemistry of flower pigments, Seed 

storage, Chemical breakage of chromosomes, Chain reaction of 

chromosome breakage, Secondary nuclei, Breakdown of sexual 

reproduction, Abnormal meiosis, Bud sports, Rose species collection, 

John Innes Composts, Steam sterilization, Methods of raising plants, 

Natural illumination, Artificial illumination of seedlings, Glasshouse 

design


- 1968 


– Anemone, Apple, Asparagus, Antirrhinums, Cherries, 

Pea, Solanaceae, Strawberries, Tomato, Onion, Vicia 

faba 

• Research Work: 

– Breeding of improved forms of anemone coronaria, 

Characterisation of anemone flower pigments, 

Phytotoxin production by venturia inaequalis of apple, 

Selection of haploid asparagus, In vitro propagation of 

asparagus, Effect of light quality on growth of 

antirrhinums, (continued)


– 1968 (2) 

• Research work (continued): 

– Production of non-shattering forms of antirrhinums, Breeding for 

resistance to bacterial canker in cherries, Neoplastic pod of pea, 

Pea breeding, Pisum germplasm records, Pea pathogens, 

Rogue peas, Cytogenetics of the solanaceae, Anther culture, 

Plant cell hybridization, Flavonoids and chlorogenic acids in 

tissue culture, The mechanism of leaf primordial formation in 

tomato, Influence of seed age under gnobiotic conditions, 

Protein changes in ageing onion seed, Rapid evaluation of seed 

viability, Effects of temperature of RNA synthesis in vicia faba, 

Mutability of antirrhinum majus, The release of genetically 

blocked anthocyanin in antirrhinum majus by botrytis cinerea, 

The nuclear pores at early meiotic prophase, The synaptinemal 

complex, The chromomeres and non-recombinational DNA, 

(continued)


– 1968 (3) 

• Research work (continued): 

– Chromocentres and the synaptinemal complex, Ultrastructural studies on 

isolated plant mitochondria, Ultrastructural studies on neoplastic growths 

associated with pods of peas, Electron microscope and optical diffraction studies 

on the structure of isolated cell walls from chlamydomonas reinhardii, Genetical 

and morphological studies of actinomycetes, Fertility variants of streptomyces 

coelicolor, The surface structure of streptomycete pores as revealed by negative 

staining and freeze-etching, The fine structure of Streptomyces coelicolor as 

revealed by freeze-etching and negative staining, photoreactivation in 

streptomyces, Attempts to induce stable heterozygosity in streptomyces, The 

isolation of phages active on streptomyces coelicolor, An approach to the 

genetics of a thermophilic actinomycete, A rapid method of lyophilising 

actinomycete cultures, Genetic and ultrastructural studies of cell wall formation in 

chlamydomonas reinhardii, Mapping and characterisation of a neurospora 

mutant lacking arginase, Alfalfa mosaic virus, Satellite virus 1 of tobacco necrosis 

virus, Tobacco ringspot virus: an anomalous nucleic acid, Proteins of unusual 

tomato mosaic virus strains, The isolation of nuclei from infected leaf tissue, The 

isolation and cytological study of a small free insect virus, Transfer of RNA of leaf 

tissue, Iodination of plant viruses and their nucleic acids, The polyamine in plant 

viruses, The mechanism of negative staining, Nuclear-cytoplasmic interactions in 

physarum polycephalum, Quantitatively minor components of RNA

Plant Varieties bred at 

• Fruit 

John Innes 

– Apples, Pears, Plums, Cherries, Strawberries, 

Blackberries, Rhubarb, Tomato, 

• Vegetables 

– Haricot bean, Sweetcorn, Mangold, Peas 

• Flowers 

– Calcaeolaria, Campanula, Columnea, Foxgloves, 

Freesia, Trumpet lily, Passiflora x Caponii, Primula 

sinensis, Streptocarpus, Tulip

The move from Merton 

to Bayfordbury 

• Merton 1910 – 1948 

• Outgrew the space available to it in Merton 

Park 

• Environmental conditions

The move from 

Bayfordbury to Colney 

• Bayfordbury 1948 – 1967 

• Scientific changes within the Institute 

• Isolation of JII 

• Grant-aided institute of Ministry of 

Agriculture

The Institute at Colney 

• Colney 1967 – 

• Links with UEA 

• New Governing Council 

• New Scheme for JII

New Scheme for JII at 

Colney 

• The carrying out of research in connection with 

the growth of plants and related subjects. 

• The improvement of existing varieties of plants 

and the creation and introduction of new 

varieties 

• The giving of instruction in, and publication of 

information relating to the matters specified in 

the first two paragraphs of this clause 

• The doing of all such acts or things as are 

incidental of conducive to the attainment of the 

purposes specified in the previous clauses

Creation of the John 

Innes Centre 

• The John Innes Centre was created by the 

merger of the following organisations: 

– John Innes Institute 

– Plant Breeding Institute 

– Nitrogen Fixation Laboratory

The Plant Breeding 

Institute 

• Was founded in 1912 as a department of the 

University of Cambridge 

• Remained a department of the university until 

1948 when it became an ARC Research Station 

• In 1990 the institute was split with the 

commercial arm being privatised and the 

scientific arm moving to the Cambridge 

Laboratory on the John Innes site at Colney 

• Became part of the John Innes Centre in 1994

The Nitrogen Fixation 

Laboratory 

• Was formed as the Unit of Nitrogen 

Fixation in 1963 at various laboratories in 

London under the Directorship of Joseph 

Chatt with John Postgate as Assistant 

Director 

• Moved to the University of Sussex in 1965 

• Became part of the AFRC Institute of Plant 

Science Research in 1987 

• Moved to the John Innes Centre in 1995

The Sainsbury 

Laboratory 

• Set up in 1987 with an agreement 

between the Gatsby Charitable 

Foundation, John Innes Foundation, UEA 

and Agricultural and Food Research 

Council (now BBSRC) 

• Laboratory was built on John Innes Centre 

site in 1989 

• Conducts research into plant interactions 

with microbes and viruses

Merton Cytology 

Laboratory - 1937

Merton Genetics 

Laboratory - 1937

Merton Biochemistry 

Laboratory – 1937

Merton Glasshouses - 

Exterior

Merton Glasshouses - 

Interior

Bayfordbury Mansion

Bayfordbury 

Glasshouses - Exterior

Bayfordbury 

Glasshouses – Interior

Bayfordbury 

Laboratories 

Images by Alan Coddington

Bayfordbury 

Laboratories 

Image by Alan Coddington

Final thought 

• What would John Innes think of the 

Institute that now bears his name? 

• It is an Institute that is very different 

from what he envisaged in his 

bequest and very different from 1910 

but an Institute which has been very 

successful

A History of the John Innes Centre

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