Batchelor, Thomas (1775–1838), farmer and writer on language, was born on 25 September 1775 at Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire, the fifth child of Joseph Batchelor (1741–1804) and Ann Brandon (d. 1792), farmers. He was baptized in 1785 at Ampthill where, from the age of ten to thirteen, he went to school. At this time, spelling book fables were the only texts he could read with any real sense of enjoyment, his particular favourite being ...
Article
Batchelor, Thomas (1775–1838), farmer and writer on language
John Martin
Article
Batey [née Lever], Mavis Lilian (1921–2013), code-breaker and garden historian
David Lambert
Batey [née Lever], Mavis Lilian (1921–2013), code-breaker and garden historian, was born on 5 May 1921 at 20 Crebor Street, Dulwich, London, the only daughter and younger child of Frederick (formerly Fred, later Stanley Frederick) Lever (1887/8–1971) and his wife, Lily Elizabeth, ...
Article
Beales, Peter Leslie (1936–2013), rose breeder and historian
Francesca Greenoak
Beales, Peter Leslie (1936–2013), rose breeder and historian, was born on 22 July 1936 at May Farm, Banningham, Norfolk, the elder child and only son of Evelyn May Beales (1916–2006), domestic servant, who in 1938 married Walter John Howes (1900–1970). He was brought up for his first eight years by his maternal grandparents and their family, and then by his mother and stepfather. He rejoiced in his early childhood and the garden where he recalled that the only ornamental plant among greens and vegetables was a fine bush of the rose ‘Maiden's blush’ cherished by his grandfather (who died when ...
Article
Beckford, William (1744–1799), sugar planter and historian
Richard B. Sheridan
Beckford, William (1744–1799), sugar planter and historian, was born in Jamaica in 1744, the son and heir of Richard Beckford (d. 1756) and his common-law wife, Elizabeth Hay. His uncle was William Beckford, lord mayor of London, and his first cousin was ...
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Beckford, William (1744–1799)
Maker: unknown engraver
In
William Beckford (1744–1799) by unknown engraver, pubd 1799 (after John? Miers) © National Portrait Gallery, London
Article
Blundell, William (1620–1698), royalist landowner and topographer
Malcolm Gratton
Blundell, William (1620–1698), royalist landowner and topographer, was born on 15 July 1620 at Crosby Hall, Little Crosby, Lancashire, the second son of Nicholas Blundell (c.1590–1631) and Jane (d. 1640), daughter of Roger Bradshaigh of Haigh, near Wigan. In 1635 at the age of fifteen he married, in ...
Article
Bridges, Thomas (c. 1842–1898), dictionary compiler, missionary, and sheep farmer
James Piggot
Bridges, Thomas (c. 1842–1898), dictionary compiler, missionary, and sheep farmer, was found abandoned, perhaps on a bridge near Bristol, aged about two and a half, and taken to an orphanage, the name of which remains unknown. He was adopted by the Revd George Pakenham Despard...
Article
Butler, Charles (1560–1647), philologist and apiarist
A. H. Bullen
revised by Karl Showler
Butler, Charles (1560–1647), philologist and apiarist, was born at High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire. He entered Magdalen Hall, Oxford, in 1579, and afterwards became a bible-clerk at Magdalen College, where he took his BA in 1584, and MA in 1587. After leaving the university he became rector of ...
Article
Clark, John (d. 1807), scholar of Scottish Gaelic literature and land agent
J. M. Rigg
revised by Lionel Alexander Ritchie
Clark, John (d. 1807), scholar of Scottish Gaelic literature and land agent, was, in the astringent judgement of the Celtic scholar Alexander Macbain, 'James Macpherson's fellow Badenoch man, contemporary, friend, and sincere imitator in poetry and literary honesty' (Macbain, 186...
Article
Clarke, Cuthbert (1728/9–1790), writer and lecturer on natural philosophy and agriculture
Sebastian Mitchell
Clarke, Cuthbert (1728/9–1790), writer and lecturer on natural philosophy and agriculture, was probably born in Belford in Northumberland, though his origins are obscure. He spent the early and middle parts of his life in the north-east of England; having left Belford he lived in ...
Article
Clutterbuck, Robert (1772–1831), local historian and landowner
Lionel M. Munby
Clutterbuck, Robert (1772–1831), local historian and landowner, was born and baptized at Watford House, High Street, Watford, in Hertfordshire, on 28 January 1772. He was the eldest surviving son of Thomas Clutterbuck the younger (1744–1791) and Sarah Thurgood (1749–1788), daughter of Robert and ...
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Clutterbuck, Robert (1772–1831)
Maker: William Bond
In
Robert Clutterbuck (1772–1831) by William Bond (after William Henry Hunt, c. 1815) © National Portrait Gallery, London
Article
Craven, John, Baron Craven (bap. 1610, d. 1648)
See Craven, Sir William
Article
Ekins, (Emily) Helen (1879–1964), horticulturist and educational administrator
John Martin
Ekins, (Emily) Helen (1879–1964), horticulturist and educational administrator, was born on 9 November 1879 at Market Place, St Albans, the only daughter of Arthur Edward Ekins, pharmaceutical chemist, and his wife, Elizabeth Ann Childs. She matriculated from St Albans high school, where she was one of its original pupils. During the following ten years she undertook voluntary work; but in her spare time she grew plants for market, winning in the process a number of prizes at local flower shows. This experience awakened in her what was to become a lifelong interest in horticulture....
Article
Fairbridge, Kingsley Ogilvie (1885–1924), founder of farm schools overseas
F. J. Wylie
revised
Fairbridge, Kingsley Ogilvie (1885–1924), founder of farm schools overseas, was born on 5 May 1885 at Grahamstown, Cape Colony, the elder son of Rhys Seymour Fairbridge, surveyor to the government of Cape Colony and later to the British South Africa Company, and his wife, ...
Article
Frere, John (1740–1807), landowner and antiquary
David Stoker
Frere, John (1740–1807), landowner and antiquary, was born at Westhorpe, Suffolk, on 10 August 1740, the eldest son of Sheppard Frere (1712–1780), landowner, of Thwaite, Suffolk, and his wife, Susanna (1709/10–1779), daughter of John Hatley of London and Kirby Hall, Essex. He was educated at a private school kept by the ...
Article
Galton, Dorothy Constance (1901–1992), university administrator and apiculturist
Karl Showler
Galton, Dorothy Constance (1901–1992), university administrator and apiculturist, was born on 14 October 1901 at 66 Rathcoole Avenue, Edmonton, Middlesex, the daughter of Frank Wallace Galton, secretary to the Fabian Society and to Sidney and Beatrice Webb, and his wife, Jessie Jane Townsend, ...
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Gibbs, Vicary (1853–1932)
Maker: Lafayette
In
Vicary Gibbs (1853–1932) by Lafayette, 1927 © National Portrait Gallery, London
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Gibbs, Vicary (1853–1932), genealogist and gardener
P. W. Hammond
Gibbs, Vicary (1853–1932), genealogist and gardener, was born at Hampstead, Middlesex, on 12 May 1853, the second surviving son of the prominent banker Henry Hucks Gibbs (1819–1907) and his wife, Louisa Anne (d. 1897), third daughter of Dr William Adams. He was great-great-nephew of the judge ...
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Hall, Sir (Alfred) Daniel (1864–1942)
Maker: Lafayette
In
Sir (Alfred) Daniel Hall (1864–1942) by Lafayette, 1927 © National Portrait Gallery, London
