A wealthy merchant banker, Augustus Smith purchased the Isles from the Duchy of Cornwall in the mid 1830’s. The other islands have subsequently been ceded back to the Duchy, but Tresco remains in the ownership of the family, with the present owners being Robert and Lucy Dorrien-Smith, and the business is known as TRESCO ESTATE

Augustus Smith was a plant collector and botanist, who recognised the climatic advantages of the islands, and began the creation of now world-famous Tresco Abbey Garden, based on sub-tropical and temperate climate plants collected from around the world. Subsequent generations have continued the development of the Garden, which is today a major attraction of the islands