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Beatrix Havergal
Beatrix Helen Havergal (born Grace Beatrix Helen Havergal, 1901-1980) was an English horticulturist. In 1932 Havergal founded Waterperry School of Horticulture, a residential horticultural college for women. When she retired as principal in 1971, Waterperry School of Horticulture closed, though there remain gardens and a nursery there. Early life and education Grace Beatrix Helen Havergal was born at Roydon Manor House in 1901, the second of three children born to the Revd. Clement Havergal (1854-1941) and his wife Eveline. She was also the great-niece of composer Frances Ridley Havergal. The children had a peaceful upbringing despite the fact that their parents' relationship was often strained. In 1902, the family moved to Inkberrow near Redditch, then to Paris where the Rev. Havergal was assistant chaplain to the British Embassy for two years. Then, after a brief period spent at Bagthorpe in , he became rector of Brent Eleigh in Suffolk. Havergal, together with her elder ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roydon, South Norfolk
Roydon is a small village, parish and electoral ward in the county of Norfolk, England, about a mile west of Diss. It covers an area of and had a population of 2,358 in 981 households at the 2001 census, the population of both parish and ward increasing to 2,457 at the 2011 Census. It is mentioned in 1035 as ''Rygedune'', and as ''Regadona'' and ''Regheduna'' in the Domesday Book, and later in 1242 as ''Reydon''. In 1603 there were 124 communicants, and in 1736 there were 60 families, totalling 240 souls. In 1736 it was assessed for tax at 630 and a half pounds. Roydon's current village hall was built in 1988 on the site of a previous building. The exterior wall hosts a relief carving relocated from Aldrich Brothers brush factory, in Factory Lane, which was demolished in 1972 It also has a small village primary school, Roydon Primary that teaches 200 pupils from 4 to 11, Reception to Year 6 (Kindergarten to 5th Grade). Its church, St Remigius, is one of 124 existing roun ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Olive Willis
Olive Margaret Willis (26 October 1877 – 11 March 1964) was an English educationist and headmistress. She founded Downe House School and was its head for nearly forty years, from 1907 to 1946. Early life Willis was born on 26 October 1877, at 65 Thistle Grove, Kensington, London, a daughter of John Armine Willis (1839–1916), a school inspector who later became Chief Inspector of Schools for the west of England, and of Janet Willis, who was a daughter of James Coutts Crawford. There were five children in the family, four daughters and a son, and Willis was the second girl. John Armine Willis had been educated at the University of Cambridge, where he was an officer of the Cambridge University Rifle Volunteers, and he liked to take his children on climbing holidays in Switzerland. Willis later remembered that they had "suffered from a surfeit of beautiful things on an empty stomach".Avery, Gillian, 'Willis, Olive Margaret (1877–1964)', in ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biogr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Order Of The British Empire (MBE)
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two of which make the recipient either a Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom#Modern honours, knight if male or a dame (title), dame if female. There is also the related British Empire Medal, whose recipients are affiliated with the order, but are not members of it. The order was established on 4 June 1917 by King George V, who created the order to recognise 'such persons, male or female, as may have rendered or shall hereafter render important services to Our Empire'. Equal recognition was to be given for services rendered in the UK and overseas. Today, the majority of recipients are UK citizens, though a number of Commonwealth realms outside the UK continue to make appointments to the order. Honorary awards may be made to cit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) is a scientific centre for the study of plants, their diversity and conservation, as well as a popular tourist attraction. Founded in 1670 as a physic garden to grow medicinal plants, today it occupies four sites across Scotland—Edinburgh, Dawyck Botanic Garden, Dawyck, Logan Botanic Garden, Logan and Younger Botanic Garden Benmore, Benmore—each with its own specialist collection. The RBGE's living collection consists of more than 13,302 plant species (34,422 accessions),Rae D. et al. (2012) Catalogue of Plants 2012. Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. whilst the herbarium contains in excess of 3 million preserved specimens. The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government. The Edinburgh site is the main garden and the headquarters of the public body, which is led by Regius Keeper of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Regius Keeper Simon Milne. History The Edinburgh bot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kew Gardens
Kew Gardens is a botanical garden, botanic garden in southwest London that houses the "largest and most diverse botany, botanical and mycology, mycological collections in the world". Founded in 1759, from the exotic garden at Kew Park, its living collections include some of the 27,000 taxa curated by Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, while the herbarium, one of the largest in the world, has over preserved plant and fungal specimens. The library contains more than 750,000 volumes, and the illustrations collection contains more than 175,000 prints and drawings of plants. It is one of London's top tourist attractions and is a World Heritage Sites, World Heritage Site. Kew Gardens, together with the botanic gardens at Wakehurst Place, Wakehurst in Sussex, are managed by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, an internationally important botany, botanical research and education institution that employs over 1,100 staff and is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Envir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Magdalen College
Magdalen College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and one of the strongest academically, setting the record for the highest Norrington Score in 2010 and topping the table twice since then. It is home to several of the university's distinguished chairs, including the Agnelli-Serena Professorship, the Sherardian Professorship, and the four Waynflete Professorships. The large, square Magdalen Tower is an Oxford landmark, and it is a tradition, dating to the days of Henry VII, that the college choir sings from the top of it at 6 a.m. on May Morning. The college stands next to the River Cherwell and the University of Oxford Botanic Garden. Within its grounds are a deer park and Addison's Walk. History Foundation Magdalen College was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete, Bishop of Winchester and Lord Chancellor of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roald Dahl Museum And Story Centre
The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre is a museum in the village of Great Missenden in Buckinghamshire, England. Children's and short story writer Roald Dahl lived in the village in Gipsy House for 36 years until his death in 1990. Overview The museum was officially opened on 10 June 2005 by Cherie Blair and open to the public on 11 June 2005. It is housed in an old coaching inn and yard, which has been converted into a museum at a cost of £4.5 million. Funding was provided by the Dahl family, Dahl's publishers, charitable foundations and corporate and private donors. The museum houses all of Dahl's main papers: his manuscripts, business and personal correspondence and his "Ideas Books". It also offers regular workshops and hosts events that help to enhance creativity and writing skills. It is run by an independent registered charity. In 2008 the museum won the "Best Small Visitor Attraction" award from Enjoy England, the website of the country's official tourist board. See ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Matilda (novel)
''Matilda'' is a 1988 children's novel by British author Roald Dahl. It was published by Jonathan Cape. The story features Matilda Wormwood, a precocious child with an uncaring mother and father, and her time in a school run by the tyrannical headmistress Miss Trunchbull. The book has been adapted in various media, including audio readings by actresses Joely Richardson, Miriam Margolyes and Kate Winslet; a 1996 feature film '' Matilda'' directed by Danny DeVito; a two-part BBC Radio 4 programme; and a 2010–2011 musical ''Matilda the Musical'' which ran on the West End in London, Broadway in New York, and around the world. A film adaptation of the musical, ''Matilda the Musical'', was released in 2022. In 2003, ''Matilda'' was listed at number 74 in ''The Big Read'', a BBC survey of the British public of the top 200 novels of all time. First of two pages. Archived 2 September 2014 by the publisher. Charles Dickens and Terry Pratchett led with five of the Top 100. The four ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Miss Trunchbull
Miss Agatha Trunchbull (nicknamed The Trunchbull) is the fictional headmistress of Crunchem Hall Primary School (or Elementary School), and the main antagonist in Roald Dahl's 1988 novel ''Matilda'' and its adaptations: the 1996 film ''Matilda'' (played by Pam Ferris), the 2011 musical, and the 2022 musical film adaptation (played by Emma Thompson). She is said to look "more like a rather eccentric and bloodthirsty follower of the stag hounds than the headmistress of a nice school for children". Miss Trunchbull is depicted as an unwholesome role model, a fierce tyrannical monster who "frightened the life out of pupils and teachers alike", notorious for her cruel and wildly idiosyncratic discipline, with trivial misdeeds (including simply wearing pigtails) incurring punishments up to potentially fatal physical discipline. Fictional character biography Miss Trunchbull is the despotic headmistress of Crunchem Hall, and her bizarre and extreme discipline is handed out over the most ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quentin Blake
Sir Quentin Saxby Blake (born 16 December 1932) is an English cartoonist, caricaturist, illustrator and children's writer. He has illustrated over 300 books, including 18 written by Roald Dahl, which are among his most popular works. For his lasting contribution as a children's illustrator, Blake won the biennial international Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2002, the highest recognition available to creators of children's books. From 1999 to 2001, he was the inaugural British Children's Laureate. Blake is a patron of the Association of Illustrators. Early life Blake was born on 16 December 1932 in Sidcup, Kent, son of William and Evelyn Blake. His father was a civil servant, and his mother a housewife. Blake was evacuated to the West Country during the Second World War. He attended Holy Trinity Lamorbey Church of England Primary School and Chislehurst and Sidcup Grammar School, where his English teacher, J. H. Walsh, influenced his life's work. Blake’s artistic deve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British author of popular children's literature and short stories, a poet, screenwriter and a wartime Flying ace, fighter ace. His books have sold more than 300 million copies worldwide. He has been called "one of the greatest storytellers for children of the 20th century". Dahl was born in Wales to affluent Norwegians, Norwegian immigrant parents, and lived for most of his life in England. He served in the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War. He became a fighter pilot and, subsequently, an intelligence officer, rising to the rank of acting wing commander. He rose to prominence as a writer in the 1940s with works for children and for adults, and he became one of the world's best-selling authors. His awards for contribution to literature include the 1983 World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement and the Specsavers National Book Awards, British Book Awards' Children's Author of the Year in 1990. In 2 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swindon
Swindon () is a town in Wiltshire, England. At the time of the 2021 Census the population of the built-up area was 183,638, making it the largest settlement in the county. Located at the northeastern edge of the South West England region, Swindon lies on the M4 corridor, 84 miles (135 km) to the west of London and 36 miles (57 km) to the east of Bristol. The Cotswolds lie just to the town's north and the North Wessex Downs to its south. Recorded in the 1086 Domesday Book as ''Suindune'', the arrival of the Great Western Railway in 1843 transformed it from a small market town of 2,500 into a thriving railway hub that would become one of the largest Swindon Works, railway engineering complexes in the world at its peak. This brought with it pioneering amenities such as the UK's first lending library and a 'cradle-to-grave' healthcare centre that was later used as a blueprint for the NHS. Swindon's railway heritage can be primarily seen today with the grade 2 listed Railway Villag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
