#321: Charles Waterton: Naturalist

One of the features of the new specification will presumably be to introduce students to people who were pioneers in the field. I've already mentioned quite a few of these people on the blog, such as White, Von Humboldt, Darwin etc. 

When I was a little more peripatetic in my work, travelling around the country, I spent several days working at the Waterton Hall Hotel on the edge of Wakefield. It also featured recently on one of the many programmes involving people buying and selling antiques on a road trip.

Charles Waterton was born in Wakefield in 1782.

He is described on his Wikipedia page here.

When David Attenborough opened an exhibit at Wakefield's museum he said of Waterton that he was:

"one of the first people anywhere to recognise, not only that the natural world was of great importance, but that it needed protection as humanity made more and more demands on it”

Waterton Hall Hotel is in Wakefield, and is well worth a visit.

In March 2024, the Guardian reported that the estate was going to be receiving Grade II heritage listing status to protect it as it was regarded as "the world's first nature reserve".

The estate owner was known for climbing trees into his 80s, padding around his land barefoot, talking to visitors while standing on his head and, during dinner parties, pretending to be a dog who would bite the legs of guests.

Yet his contemporaries often thought him eccentric for the way he managed his estate, such as his decisions to ban shooting on his land and to invite members of the public to visit it for free. Asylum patients were welcomed as part of their treatment.

“He isn’t that well know today, but when he was alive he was quite widely known for his explorations and scientific expeditions,” said Sarah Charlesworth, Historic England’s listing team leader in northern England.

“He was a fascinating man, ahead of his time. He created what is in effect the first nature reserve in the world to protect native wildlife. He deserves to be better known.”

Image of hotel: Alan Parkinson, shared under CC license

The estate was protected by a wall which Waterton built at great expense. He has family links with slavery, which are explored here - on the Friends of Waterton's Wall website.

#164: Dr. Margaret Bradshaw - wildflower advocate

I hope that students will be introduced to a diverse range of people who have worked in the field of natural history - specialising in discrete aspects of the various sub-disciplines - and not just the usual suspects of dead white men.

Margaret Bradshaw is a legend in the field of wildlfower research.

The Guardian has profiled Margaret, who has spent many decades researching the flowers in Teesdale in North Yorkshire. At 97, she has just had a book published outlining the results of her research into the local flowers which developed in a unique mini-ecosystem of Arctic-Alpine flora.

She has also been featured on Countryfile.

This part of the uplands is a seemingly empty landscape, heavily grazed by sheep, but it hides botanical treasures that have been here for more than 10,000 years. Some of the plants can’t be found anywhere else in the UK and – until Bradshaw arrived on the scene – many were unaccounted for.

Bradshaw is the chief caretaker of some of the country’s rarest flowers. She has spent seven decades obsessively studying the unique Arctic-Alpine flora of Teesdale, in the north of England.

We just loved reading this profile of Margaret Bradshaw - deserving winner of our 2023 H. H. Bloomer Award.

Margaret has spent decades studying the plants of Teesdale, and campaigning to preserve them.https://t.co/8stQfR3P4K pic.twitter.com/z6q4ZRNrfC

— The Linnean Society of London (@LinneanSociety) November 3, 2023

On her Countryfile appearance she was asked if it 'mattered' that the flowers were disappearing.

In response, Margarets said: 'Well, does it matter that we have Durham cathedral? Does it matter that we have Stongehenge?'

'What would happen if Durham cathedral was falling down, bit by bit? They'd want to build it up again because it's part of our heritage.

'This is part of our heritage. Much older than Stonehenge. It's 10,000 or 12,000 years old.'