In memory of the wonderful Jane Saxby, our beloved mother, wife, sister and friend, we would love to commemorate her with a bench at Kew Gardens, her favourite place, for loved ones and strangers alike to sit and think of her. 

Jane was a longtime member of Kew and visited with many friends and relatives, especially with me (Soph, her daughter!) and husband Issam. For almost a decade, she was also a volunteer at the National Archives just around the corner, and long outings to Kew became a weekly occurence. 

Jane - or mum, to me - was inquisitive, considerate, generous, witty, intensely intelligent, unflinchingly loyal, fiercely independent. She had an incorruptible sense of right and wrong and always stood up for those who needed it. She was astonishingly strong during her four year battle with cancer - and those who know her closely know it really was a battle. Her lasting legacy, though, will be her kindness, which left an indelible impression on anyone who knew her even for a moment. I'm so proud to be her daughter and I know so many others will feel the same sense of pride in knowing and loving her. 

Details on the bench from Kew below:

We ask for a donation of £5,000 to sponsor a bench at Kew. This covers the cost of the bench and is also a philanthropic donation to Kew’s work.

The benches we provide are made by skilled craftsmen, and are built using high quality, long lasting, FSC certified hardwood to a design chosen by Kew. The bench will display a plaque with your personal dedication and is guaranteed for a period of ten years. After this time, it will be assessed annually and only removed from the gardens when it becomes unsafe.

You can choose a spot in the Gardens special to you for the bench to be placed, though as they are free standing, they can move around slightly.

Please feel free to share this page with anyone who knew and loved Jane and might want to visit her bench in the future to say hello to her.

We will make sure to share photos and the precise location of the bench once it has found a home in Kew! 

Soph x