Musette Frances Jacqueline Natalie Majendie

CBE 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 o ...

(1 December 1903 – 24 January 1981) was an English landowner and philanthropist. She was the owner of

Hedingham Castle Hedingham Castle, in the village of Castle Hedingham, Essex, is arguably the best preserved Norman keep in England. The castle fortifications and outbuildings were built around 1100, and the keep around 1140. However, the keep is the only ma ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

Family

Majendie was born on 1 Decemebr 1903 in

Sudbury Sudbury may refer to: Places Australia * Sudbury Reef, Queensland Canada * Greater Sudbury, Ontario ** Sudbury (federal electoral district) ** Sudbury (provincial electoral district) ** Sudbury Airport ** Sudbury Basin, a meteorite impact cra ...

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

. Her father was politician James Henry Alexander Majendie MP. Her mother was local

Women's Institute The Women's Institute (WI) is a community-based organization for women in the United Kingdom, Canada, South Africa and New Zealand. The movement was founded in Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada, by Erland and Janet Lee with Adelaide Hoodless being the ...

leader Beatrice Cecilia Majendie (), the daughter of James Mitchell of Holbrook Hall. On her paternal line, she was the granddaughter of politician

Lewis Majendie Lewis Ashurst Majendie (1835 – 22 October 1885) was a British Conservative Party politician. Parliamentary career At the 1874 general election, Majendie was elected as one of the two Members of Parliament (MPs) for the parliamentary boroug ...

MP and his wife Lady Margaret Elizabeth Majendie (). The Majendie family had owned Hedingham Castle for 250 years until Majendie left it to her cousin Thomas Lindsay.

Community projects

From 1930, Majendie led a programme at Hedingham supported by the

Ministry of Labour A ministry of labour ('' UK''), or labor ('' US''), also known as a department of labour, or labor, is a government department responsible for setting labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, training, and s ...

to train unemployed men from towns and mining villages in the North of England for jobs in service. She was appointed

Commander of the British Empire 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 o ...

for this scheme in the

1935 Birthday Honours The 1935 Birthday Honours for the British Empire were announced on 3 June 1935 to celebrate the Birthday and Silver Jubilee of King George V. The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour, and arranged ...

. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Majendie developed a close relationship with Dr

Margery Blackie Margery Grace Blackie Royal Victorian Order, CVO MD, FFHom (4 February 1898 – 24 August 1981) was a British Doctor of Medicine who was appointed as the first woman royal physician to Elizabeth II, Queen Elizabeth II. Early life Blackie was ...

, who began to spend every weekend at Hedingham and consider the castle home. In 1951, Majendie and Blackie donated two acres of land, which had been intended for use as a war memorial until an alternative site was found, to Halstead Council for building

council houses A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nation ...

. Majendie and Blackie held events at the castle such as fashion shows to raise funds for their respective interests, the Scout movement in Essex and the Homeopathic Society. Majendie was a

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

leader from 1910, with the keep serving as the scout hut of the 1st Castle Hedingham Scouts and camps taking place in the grounds. The castle features on the unit badge. Majendie was awarded the

Scout Association The Scout Association is the largest organisation in the Scout Movement in the Scouting in the United Kingdom, United Kingdom. Following the rapid development of the Scouting, Scout Movement from 1907, The Scout Association was formed in 1910 ...

Medal of Merit in 1930 and the Scout Association Silver Acorn Medal in 1935. Majendie and Blackie also opened the gardens at Hedingham for the

National Gardens Scheme The National Garden Scheme opens privately owned gardens in England, Northern Ireland, Wales, and the Channel Islands on selected dates for charity. It was founded in 1927 with the aim of "opening gardens of quality, character and interest to th ...

Death and commemoration

In the last year of her life, from 1980 to 1981, she lived at

with Blackie. Majendie died on 24 January 1981, aged 77. She was remembered as a "fine horsewoman, crack shot and eingknown to chop down trees single-handed". Majendie and Blackie were jointly commemorated on a plaque in St Nicholas' Church, Castle Hedingham. On 23 June 2022, a commemorative

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom, and certain other countries and territories, to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving a ...

for commemorating Majendie was unveiled at Wooding Lodge, the Scout Hut for 1st Castle Hedingham Scouts. It was funded by the Scout group and the Hedingham History Group.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Majendie, Musette 1903 births 1981 deaths People from Sudbury, Suffolk 20th-century British landowners Members of the Order of the British Empire