Author: Purple Brolly
Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown
Northumbrian Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown (1716-83) entered landscape gardening with an enthusiasm and vision that propelled him to the top of his profession. […]
Read MoreNorthumbrian Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown (1716-83) entered landscape gardening with an enthusiasm and vision that propelled him to the top of his profession. Although he dismissed the formal designs which sought to mould plants into rigid shapes and patterns, he was not averse to moving tons of soil to fulfil his own idea of perfection. On surveying a new project he would exclaim that it had “capabilities”, hence his nickname, portending a remodelling on a grand scale.
Brown’s career began in 1741 at Stowe House in Buckinghamshire, where he became Head Gardener, then Clerk of Works. Going freelance in 1751, he spent the rest of his life designing the grounds of aristocratic estates all over the country ~ 170 of them all told, of which 18 are now maintained by the National Trust, including Stowe itself.
Characteristically, Brown would install a lake with curving, grassy banks and an ornate bridge. He would plant trees with naturally architectural shapes and group them carefully in small clumps or woods. He would build neo-classical temples and follies, and he devised the ‘ha-ha’ wall, hidden from sight of the house, but keeping livestock in the distant parkland. A long, sweeping driveway would be engineered to give approaching visitors an impressive view.
(Top image [cropped]: Gresham College at Flickr.com / Public domain)
William Blake, author of ‘Jerusalem’
In his time, William Blake (1757-1827) was viewed by some as a nutcase. It was not until a generation after his poverty-stricken […]
Read MoreIn his time, William Blake (1757-1827) was viewed by some as a nutcase. It was not until a generation after his poverty-stricken death that his poetry and illustrations received acclaim. By then, of course, Blake’s habit of seeing spiritual visions and of recounting conversations he had had with ‘the other side’ did not loom so large in the mind when considering his work. Indeed, he is now deemed a revolutionary genius in terms of imaginative literature, and the New Age movement of the 1960s held Blake in high esteem.
He lived in London, a city he loved, for all but three years of his adult life. He left school at age 10 and started work as an engraver at 14. He continued in this trade, working at home using a printing process he devised himself which printed both text and illustration in one pressing rather than separately.
His most famous poem, ‘Jerusalem’, was set to music during WW1 and it is regarded as England’s anthem. ‘The Tyger’, ‘Auguries of Innocence’ and ‘The Dance of Albion’ are other well-loved examples. They evoke imagery that may have seemed eccentric in the early 19th century but appeals to those contemplating life’s meaning two centuries later.
(Top image of William Blake self-portrait: Wikimedia Commons / Public domain)
Crown Courts
The Courts Act of 1971 established the network of Crown Courts and circuit judges in England and Wales, streamlining the system in […]
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The double-helix of DNA
Dr. Francis Crick (1916-2004) was born in Northamptonshire and was one of three scientists awarded the 1962 Nobel Prize in Physiology or […]
Read MoreDr. Francis Crick (1916-2004) was born in Northamptonshire and was one of three scientists awarded the 1962 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. This was for proposing the double-helix of DNA, which kick-started the field of molecular biology and research into the genetic code. The first diagram of the spiral staircase structure was drawn by Crick’s wife, Odile, and accompanied their 1953 paper, ‘Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids: A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid’.
Crick met his fellow Prize-winner, the American Dr. James Watson (1928-), while he was working on X-ray diffraction of proteins in the Cavendish Laboratory at the University of Cambridge. Together they investigated the structure of DNA during 1951-3 and produced a solution, aided by crystallography data from the third Prize-winner, Maurice Wilkins (1916-2004) and using their own visualisations. Watson focused on pairing the ‘bases’ which made up the rungs of the ladder, while Crick created the mathematical modelling.
DNA is packed into the twenty-three pairs of human chromosomes and the theory for its structure was a clue to how genetic information is reproduced. Crick’s enduring scientific curiosity meant that he eventually moved on to neuroscience. His particular interest was consciousness, unconsciousness and memory, and how they interact with the senses.
(Top image [cropped]: Vernon Barford School at Flickr.com / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Dame Kelly Holmes
Dame Kelly Holmes, MBE (1970-) is known for campaigns for physical and mental health, particularly via her charity, the Dame Kelly Holmes […]
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The Church in Wales
The Church in Wales (CiW) acquired its name in deference to The Welsh Church Act of 1914, which referred to the Welsh […]
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Trooping the Colour
The visibility of a distinctive regimental flag is of great importance on a crowded battlefield, as is the practice of drills and […]
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The Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House (ROH), situated in London’s Covent Garden district, began life as the Theatre Royal in 1732 and has only […]
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Tinned food
Northumberland-born Bryan Donkin (1768-1855) was an extraordinarily creative engineer whose inventions included the world’s first commercial canning process. This was operated in […]
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King Stephen vs. Empress Matilda
The 19-year reign of King Stephen (c.1097-1154) was the last of the House of Normandy. Born in France, he was raised as […]
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‘Watch with Mother’
London-born Freda Lingstrom, OBE (1893-1989) was a pioneer of radio and television programming for pre-school children. She launched BBC radio’s ‘Listen with […]
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