Transit takes a role at the Palace

The 750-acre royal estate of Hampton Court Palace keeps an army of gardeners busy, not to mention a small fleet of Ford Transits to keep staff on top of the job.

Hampton Court has taken delivery of three new Transits, which have been liveried in the distinctive colours of the Palace, by the Thames in south-west London.

The Transits were supplied by Ford dealer Dinnages, bringing to four the number of Ford vans provided to Hampton Court by the Sussex-based dealer, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year. “We have had four vehicles in all from Dinnages,” says Graham Dillamore, gardens and estates operations manager for Historic Royal Palaces. “Three are being used by members of the 44 full-time gardening staff for general gardens and estate operations, including landscaping work and maintenance, and the other is used to provide stock to our retail outlets at the Tower of London, Hampton Court and Kensington Palace.

“We chose the Transit because of its ready availability, ease of maintenance and staff familiarity. Dinnages is our preferred Ford dealer – we have found the staff there nice to deal with and we have struck up a good relationship with them.”

That’s a tribute which Dinnages commercial manager Mike Boden is delighted to receive: “It’s always nice to attract orders from outside your local area, and also to receive compliments from a client as prestigious as Hampton Court Palace. The Transits look superb in their Hampton Court livery.

“Dinnages is this year celebrating its 75th anniversary, and the Transit its 45th anniversary, so the timing is very appropriate.”

The first private Royal gardens were laid out at Hampton Court for King Henry VIII in the 1530s. There are now 60 acres of formal gardens in the 750 acres of Royal parkland which provide the setting for Hampton Court Palace. Among its many attractions are the annual RHS flower show and the world-famous maze, in which a third of a million people try not to lose themselves every year.