Born at the family mansion Englefield House, situated near Reading, Sir Henry was the eldest son of the Sixth Baronet, Sir Henry Englefield and his second wife Catherine (nee Buck). In 1778, aged 26, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, and in the following year a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries.

Born at Halstead in Essex, Gilbert moved to Southampton with his parents during the 1850s. He married Mary Emma Stanesby in 1867 and they continued to reside in the town for much of the remainder of the 19th century, although for a short period the couple lived in Wandsworth. While in Southampton Gilbert established a…

The Rev George Engleheart achieved national prominence as one of the greatest ever breeders of daffodils, but as a ‘highly cultured man, well read and appreciative of everything that is beautiful’ he also found time to indulge in the classical archaeology of his local Hampshire parishes.

William Gilpin was a Church of England cleric, schoolmaster, artist and author. He is perhaps best known as a travel writer, and one who originated the idea of the ‘picturesque’.

He came from a family well rooted and in business in Fordingbridge. His father, John, is described as an ‘estate agent and auctioneer’, and he as a ‘land agent and auctioneer’. In 1880 his father was appointed coroner for the town and he followed in 1898. Later, he traded as Hannen & Sampson (HRO, 12M86).…

Félicité Hardcastle was born in Oxford. Her great grandfather was Sir William Herschel and her father, Joseph Alfred Hardcastle, was also a noted astronomer.  When he died, in 1916, she and her mother moved to the New Forest village of Burley.

John Hooper Harvey trained as an architect under his father and under Sir Herbert Baker. He worked before WW2 for the Ministry of Public Works, then as a lecturer in the Bartlett School of Architecture at University College, London from 1950-1959. He was Consultant Architect to Winchester College from 1947 to 1986, and Keeper of…

Francis Haverfield was born at Shipston-on-Stour, Warwickshire to Rev William Haverfield and Emily his wife (née Mackarness).  His mother died when he was two and his father fell into a ‘hopeless and prolonged decline’.  Deprived of a normal home life, Francis developed an abruptness of manner which was apparently with him for the rest of…

The ‘sporting exploits’ of Colonel Peter Hawker, considered one of the ‘great shots’ of the 19th century, were widely followed during his lifetime, and his Instructions to Young Sportsmen in All That Relates to Guns and Shooting was something of a best-seller.  When he wasn’t pursuing fish, fowl (or beast, for that matter) his diary…

C F C (Christopher) Hawkes spent his early years in London and Northumberland before attending Winchester College and New College, Oxford.