THE former home of one of this country's most eminent botanists has become the latest to be recognised as of historical importance.

John Gilbert Baker once lived in a house in the alley that now bears his name in the centre of Thirsk.

He was a notable local botanist, born in 1834, who went on to become the keeper of the herbarium at the Royal Botanical Gardens, in Kew, south-west London, towards the end of the 19th Century.

The herbarium holds more than seven million specimens, representing nearly 98 per cent of all the genera in the world.

The current keeper of the herbarium, Professor Simon Owens, travelled to the region to unveil a plaque on the side of the NatWest bank building, which sits on the site of Baker's home.

The plaque is one of 21 being put up around the town to mark famous birthplaces and buildings.

They are the idea of the Thirsk and Sowerby Past and Present Initiative, under which town, parish and district authorities are working together.