The Shepton Mallet Snowdrop Project is a not for profit Community Interest Company run entirely by volunteers. We run and support the annual Snowdrop Festival each February and plant snowdrop bulbs each autumn across the town. We do all of this to celebrate James Allen, a remarkable C19th breeder of snowdrops who lived here. He became known as the Snowdrop King and we’re very proud of him and his legacy. Each summer we also organise the Shepton Open Gardens to raise money for the Festival and for snowdrop bulbs.
One of our aims is also to support the regeneration of Shepton Mallet by raising the profile of the town and attracting visitors. We want local people and businesses to feel proud of the influences and people that shaped this historic town, in particular James Allen.
A fitting tribute
In 2022 we celebrated the raising of a new beautifully carved stone obelisk onto the family grave of James Allen. The original memorial had fallen into disrepair. His funeral in 1906 took place in a heavy snowstorm and several of the wreaths were ‘of the spring flowers in great variety to which he had devoted so much attention’. *
* Excerpt from the 1906 obituary in the local paper.
