Rivers Archives
The group's archives form a detailed history of the Rivers Nursery in Sawbridgeworth. The items were collected by Elizabeth Waugh and used to write her Rivers Nursery of Sawbridgeworth in 2009. The physical archives are currently housed in the Sawbridgeworth Town Council offices and some are kept electronically (see below). Contact the committee for further information.
Publications
A leaflet celebrating 250 years of the Rivers Nursery (published in 1975) is available here.
The Miniature Fruit Garden, or the culture of pyramidal and bush fruit trees 8th edition, published by Thomas Rivers in 1859 (thanks to Darren Turpin).
The Miniature Fruit Garden, or the culture of pyramidal and bush fruit trees 9th edition, published by Thomas Rivers in 1860 (thanks to Darren Turpin).
The Orchard House, or the cultivation of fruit trees in pots under glass, published by Thomas Rivers in 1851 (thanks to Darren Turpin).
Report of the Committee of the National Pear Conference, 1885 in which the Conference pear was introduced (from the Biodiversity Heritage Library).
Rivers Master Stocklist, a list of cultivars previously stocked on the Rivers site.
Rivers Catalogues
Some of the Rivers Catalogues held in the archives are now available electronically. We thank the RHS Lindley Library, the John Innes Library, Lenze (UK), Peter Rivers and Darren Turpin (Orchard Notes) for help in collecting these. We would be very happy to expand our collection. If anyone would like to donate further years, please contact the committee.
| Year | Filesize |
| 1844-45 | 3.8 Mb |
| 1853-54 | 2.7 Mb |
| 1855-56 | 2.6 Mb |
| 1857-58 | 2.2 Mb |
| 1860-61 | 2.3 Mb |
| 1861-62 | 9.9 Mb |
| 1863-64 | 2.6 Mb |
| 1897-98 | 9.3 Mb |
| 1925-26 | 16.2 Mb |
| 1935-36 | 15.4 Mb |
| 1949-50 | 12.1 Mb |
| 1970-71 | 12.8 Mb |
| 1971-72 | 11.7 Mb |
| 1977-78 | 15.2 Mb |
| 1978-79 | 11.6 Mb |
| 1979-80 | 11 Mb |
| 1980-81 | 10.8 Mb |
| 1981-82 | 11 Mb |