Joseph Cheal, a Quaker, was a nurseryman, gardener and landscape designer active in the late-19th and early- to mid-20th century. He is perhaps best remembered for his work carried out as part of Joseph Cheal & Son gardeners, who were a partnership of designers active during this period.
Together with his brother Alexander and John Cheal (born 1800, died 1896), Cheal worked at the Lowfield Nurseries at Crawley, Sussex, England, which was established in 1871. He he laid out the grounds at Hever Castle, Kent, England as well as Kirkstall Abbey, Yorkshire, England and Polesden Lacy, Surrey, England.
Joseph Cheal died on 9 June 1935.
Sources:
Benton, Alison M. Cheals of Crawley : The Family Firm at Lowfield Nurseries, 1860s-1960s (Uckfield: Moira, 2002)
Desmond, Ray, Dictionary of British and Irish Botanists and Horticulturists (London: Taylor & Francis, 1994), p. 144.
West Sussex Record Office, 'Cheals of Crawley, Nurserymen: Records c1860-1969 (Acc. 13321)' <http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/accessions/2003/03returns/03ac182.htm> [accessed 18 April 2008]