Did a little girl picking marigolds inspire Shakespeare’s Ophelia?
This fascinating article (which I admit is a tenuous link) – but if my colleague Lewis Strange is reading this one he will enjoy – explains how: “Oxford historian Dr Steven Gunn is in charge of a team at the university’s history faculty which is ploughing through accounts of all the accidental deaths which occurred in England in the 16th century.
“Among their number is a report of the 1569 death of one Jane Shaxpere, a two-and-a-half-year-old girl who fell into a mill pond while picking marigolds 20 miles from Shakespeare’s home in Stratford-upon-Avon.
According to Dr Gunn, Shaxpere is a “likely” relation to the Bard and a “strong contender” for Ophelia’s inspiration.”
I can gradually start getting closer to the point by letting you into my birthday treat a trip to Hodsock Priory to see the Globe on tour performing “As You Like It.” – and now to the point – Hodsock Priory is a brilliant example of a contemporary approach of a country estate making a major contribution to its local economy.
In addition to its outdoor performance approach the Priory is also now heated by ground source arrangements and is more than 20 years into a brilliant annual seasonal event whereby thousands of people every February throng to see its snowdrops.
I have been working with Dr Gary Bosworth of the University of Lincoln and Jason Beedell of Smiths Gore on a paper profiling the economic contribution of estates to rural economies – if you would like to know more – or have some examples you might contribute please get in touch.