Our founder
Ivor Henry Wilden
The Aquatic Habitat was founded in 1973 by Ivor and his wife
Jean. Sadly, Ivor passed away in June 2016, but the business
carries on...
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our founder, Ivor Wilden, aged 81, after a short battle with cancer.
In 1973 Ivor, together with his beloved wife of 57 years, Jean, seized the opportunity to purchase the run down "Daffodil Way Nurseries" where our shop now
stands. Initially he built, from scratch, a small aquatic shop with a total of about 30 tanks.
With almost no funding he created Gloucestershire's first real destination for fish and pond enthusiasts.
In 1976 Wyevale Garden Centres took over the running of the Garden Centre, and The Aquatic Centre as it was then called, was greatly expanded. The Summer
of 1976 was particularly hot, so working mostly at night to avoid the heat, Ivor hand built the 135 aquariums and the wooden framework that supported them.
Ivor focused on cleanliness, healthy fish, quality service, and knowledgeable staff.
Over the years, Ivor developed and adopted many aquatic innovations. He pioneered showrooms with demonstration aquariums as well as beautifully landscaped
ponds and water gardens. He introduced the idea of an automatic top up for our freshwater aquariums, and we were one of the first UK stores to advocate the
use of protein skimmers in marine tanks and CO2 dosing in planted aquariums.
The awards and accolades began to roll in and in 1996 readers of Practical Fishkeeping Magazine voted "The Aquatic Habitat" the Best Watergarden outlet in
the UK & also the UK's Best Overall Retailer.
With water garden centres now commonplace it's easy to forget how innovative and visionary Ivor's approach was, with customers travelling from all corners of
the country and even overseas to visit the shop.
In 1998 Ivor and Jean retired to concentrate on building their home and subsequently to spend time with their growing family of grandchildren. Ivor was a
generous, humble and committed family man who withstood his illness with courage and dignity. He never complained and passed away peacefully on June 15th
2016 leaving behind his devoted wife Jean, proud sons, Robert, Andrew and Alaster and four wonderful grandchildren.
Although he is sorely missed, his creation lives on.