Margaret Elizabeth Fountaine

As it is Mother's Day, I have little time for research so here is an article I sent out a few years ago.  Margaret is another person I didn’t know anything about.  She was famous for being a lepidopterist and an adventurer which is a unique mix.  But what is a lepidopterist?  Where did she travel to?  What did she collect and where is her collection held now?  She travelled the world on horse back at great risk to herself but who was her guide and companion for 27 years?  She is also famous for the diary she kept between 1878–1939 and for her carefully drawn sketchbooks of larvae and pupae, many previously un-described, which are held in the Natural History Museum.  To find out more please select the following links, in the second link you will also find a short film about her: 

https://norfolkrecordofficeblog.org/margaret-fountaine/

https://norfolkwomeninhistory.com/1851-1899/margaret-fountaine/

Ebenezer Cobham Brewer

Many thanks to Sylvia for bringing Ebenezer Cobham Brewer to our attention on Tuesday.  He was born in Norwich and famous for writing, A Guide to the Scientific Knowledge of Things Familiar and Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable.  To find out more please select the following link:  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._Cobham_Brewer

Maharaja Duleep Singh

There is a statue of Maharaja Duleep Singh on Butten Island in Thetford.  So who is he?  Why is there a Sikh statue in Thetford?  He was the last Sikh ruler, removed by the British and exiled to Britain in 1854.  Where did he live on the Norfolk/Suffolk border?  Which member of the royal family was he a firm favourite of?  The following article talks about his life and the 2022 exhibition at the Norwich Archive centre.  To find out more please select the following link:  

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-63225177

Thomas Fowell Buxton

For those that enjoyed last week's talk from Alison Dow and would like to learn a little more about Thomas, here is a related article.  The article is more related to his life in London but hopefully you will find it of interest.  I need to make a note to look out for his grave the next time I am in Overstrand:  

https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/blue-plaques/thomas-fowell-buxton/

Taverham Mill

I walked over to the Taverham Mill nature reserve the other day and enjoyed some pleasant tea and cake in their cafe.  On the wall was the below picture and some history of Taverham Mill, it must have a been a real hive of activity at it’s peak which is in contrast to the lovely peaceful surroundings of today’s nature reserve.  I thought that a related article would be of interest.  

https://www.norfolkmills.co.uk/Watermills/taverham.html

Wanderings of a Fallible Flaneur

Colin has made a recent post to his blog “Wanderings of a Fallible Flaneur” describing his visit to St Margaret’s Stratton Strawless.  Please select the following link to find out more.  You may also wish to explore his blog:  

https://thefallibleflaneur.blogspot.com/2025/02/stratton-strawless-st-margaret-always.html

Augustine Briggs

One of the tokens that Adrian Marsden showed us on Tuesday was issued by Augustine Briggs, a grocer, a Royalist who became Mayor.  Here is an article about Augustine with some contributions from Adrian:  

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-67772625