Eliza James (1855-1927)

Eliza started out selling two baskets of watercress a day. By her death she had watercress beds in Hampshire and Surrey and was selling 50 tons each weekend. Eliza began selling watercress aged 11. By 1902 she settled in London and became a successful businesswoman. A familiar face in Covent Garden Market, Eliza was known as the ‘watercress queen’.