Alice Hext
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Alice Hext (2 March 1865Birth Register: Entry No.401. Place of birth and residence of father: High Cross, St. Austell – 14 September 1939Burke's ''
Landed Gentry The landed gentry, or the gentry (sometimes collectively known as the squirearchy), is a largely historical Irish and British social class of landowners who could live entirely from rental income, or at least had a country estate. It is t ...
'' (1952), p. 1220: Hext family.
) was a Cornish
philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...
, garden developer and magistrate. She was the owner of the Trebah Estate and leisure garden, near Falmouth in
Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...
from 1907 to her death in 1939, and generously supported the development of sports and social activities in the parishes of Constantine and Mawnan.Obituary in ''The West Briton'': 21 September 1939, p. 6, Column e. "LOSS TO CORNWALL/ DEATH AT TREBAH OF MRS. CHARLES HEXT/ DEVOTED PUBLIC WORKER".


Birth and marriage

Alice Petherick was born in St. Austell, on 2 March 1865, the daughter of George Petherick, a bank manager and his wife, Emily (born Barratt). She married Charles Hawkins Hext, a banker, on 16 April 1891 in
Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...
. Both her father and her husband bore names "well-known among West Country
gentry Gentry (from Old French , from ) are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past. ''Gentry'', in its widest connotation, refers to people of good social position connected to Landed property, landed es ...
". Charles and Alice Hext are shown in the 1901 census as resident at Polgwin in the civil parish of
Bodmin Bodmin () is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated south-west of Bodmin Moor. The extent of the civil parish corresponds fairly closely to that of the town so is mostly urban in character. It is bordered ...
, Cornwall. Charles is described as "Retired Banker" aged 49. Alice is shown as aged 36. In 1907, they moved to Trebah. Charles Hext served as
Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...
of Bodmin in 1895 and as
High Sheriff of Cornwall Sheriffs and high sheriffs of Cornwall: a chronological list: The right to choose high sheriffs each year is vested in the Duchy of Cornwall. The Privy Council of the United Kingdom, Privy Council, chaired by the sovereign, chooses the sheriff ...
in 1915. He died on 3 January 1917.


Trebah Garden

She developed Trebah Garden, the beautiful garden created by the Fox family of Falmouth, on the northern side of the
Helford River The Helford River () is a ria (flooded river valley) in Cornwall, England, fed by small streams into its many creeks. There are seven creeks on the Helford; from west to east these are Ponsontuel Creek, Mawgan Creek, Polpenwith Creek, Polwheve ...
at Trebahwortha, near Mawnan Smith.
"Mrs. Hext was a keen horticulturist and a frequent exhibitor at county and local garden shows and in her support of these she did much to help allotment holders and small gardeners. Her grounds were always open to the public and were often used for fetes and garden parties".
After her death, the estate was split up and the garden passed between several owners and decayed. The "lost garden" at Trebah was rescued by the Hibbert family, who established a charitable trust to enable the garden to be open to the public again. A cob and thatch arbour in the garden was restored and given the name "Alice's Seat".


Philanthropy

She was a noted benefactor, to the county and in the parishes of Constantine and Mawnan. In particular, she gave the playing field and sports pavilion to the village of Constantine in 1921, in memory of her husband, Charles Hawkins Hext. , p. 131 There is a commemorative plaque at Constantine Social Club, recalling her generosity to the village.


Protective covenant

In 1928, she acquired Goongillings Farm and rebuilt the old quay as a decorative feature. She created a public right of way, from the village of Constantine to the river, through her land and covenanted its future use against inappropriate development.


Public service

She served as Justice of the Peace from June 1921 until 1939. Her obituary in '' The West Briton'' says:
"A Justice of the Peace for the East Kerrier District, Mrs. Hext regularly attended the monthly meetings of the court at Penryn and she took a particular interest in the welfare of young people unfortunate enough to come before the magistrates.
One of her greatest interests was
the Girls' Friendly Society The Girls' Friendly Society (GFS) is a charitable organisation that empowers girls and young women aged 5 to 25, encouraging them to develop their full potential through programs that provide training, confidence building, and other educational ...
. She was president of the county the branch, and she was constantly active in furthering the good causes of that organisation in Cornwall and beyond it.
Some years ago, she presented a fine house, Miramar, at Grove-place, Falmouth, as a G.F.S. lodge for the Truro Diocese, enabling girls to be trained there for domestic service and affording hundreds of young women from other parts of the country and from abroad to enjoy holidays under the auspices of the movement at Falmouth.
A keen advocate of every possible facility for children in both elementary and secondary schools, Mrs. Hext was a valued education worker in the county and in the Falmouth area, being associated with both the Mawnan and Constantine elementary schools, a governor of Falmouth County High School for Girls, and a frequent benefactor to the Falmouth Grammar School. When village or secondary schools were in need of some improvements, Mrs. Hext not infrequently made herself responsible for them, and she often provided prizes as an inducement to scholars in some particularly commendable direction.
In the Constantine-Mawnan area she was interested in and almost invariably a helper in, anything for the betterment of village life. She gave to Constantine its present recreation ground and pavilion, and in both villages she supported sporting and social organisations, almost without exception".


Death and legacy

She died on 14 September 1939, and was buried in the churchyard of Saint Constantine's church.''Gazette and News'' 20 September 1939: "Well-known Cornish lady: death of Mrs C. H. Hext". The obituary describes the funeral and notes that the
Bishop of Truro The bishop of Truro is the ordinary (diocesan bishop) of the Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown De ...
conducted the service, as well as several of her nephews, including Maurice Petherick, Conservative MP for Penryn & Falmouth (1931–1945).
"Among the wreaths were tributes from the presidents, vice-presidents and members of the Truro Diocesan Council of the G.F.S.; Constantine Parochial Church Council, Constantine Nursing Association, Constantine Recreation Committee, Constantine Garden Society, the teachers and pupils of Ponjeravah Day Schools, Constantine Branch of the G.F.S.; the indoor staff; the outdoor staff; and "the garden she loved".
Also present were a number of her nieces and nephews, including the MP for Penryn and Falmouth, Maurice Petherick. The Girls Friendly Society no longer functions in Falmouth but is a global organisation. The Constantine Sports and Social Club, that she endowed, still functions and the land she protected from development by covenant is still green. The garden that she and Charles Hext developed gives much pleasure to many people.


Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hext, Alice 1865 births 1939 deaths English philanthropists English gardeners People from St Austell