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39-490: Gilbert White (18 July 1720 – 26 June 1793) was a " parson-naturalist ", a pioneering English naturalist , ecologist , and ornithologist . He is best known for his Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne . White was born on 18 July 1720 in his grandfather's vicarage at Selborne in Hampshire . His grandfather, also Gilbert White was at that time vicar of Selborne. Gilbert White's parents were John White (1688–1758)

78-578: A stole embroidered with butterflies for the service he holds in a Northamptonshire woodland "to bless the forest rides". Woolmer wrote the book The Grand Surprise: Butterflies and the Kingdom of Heaven . Richard Mabey Richard Thomas Mabey (born 20 February 1941) is a writer and broadcaster, chiefly on the relations between nature and culture. Mabey was educated at three independent schools, all in Berkhamsted , Hertfordshire. The first

117-530: A tortoise inherited from his aunt in The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne form the basis for Verlyn Klinkenborg 's book, Timothy; or, Notes of an Abject Reptile (2006), and for Sylvia Townsend Warner 's The Portrait of a Tortoise (1946). A stained glass window portraying St Francis of Assisi in Selborne church commemorates Gilbert White. It was designed by Horace Hinckes and

156-453: A 'new kind of zoology, scientific, precise and based on the steady accumulation of detail'. The Natural History represents a shift to holistic, evidence-based engagement warmed by empathy. From nearly 40 years of observations, White recognised that birds and animals have inner lives. He based his work on accurate (if haphazard) recording of events, classifying, measuring, analysing data, making deductions from observations, and experimenting. He

195-463: A Naturalist about White's contribution to the public interest in birds: "The bird census, now so widely promulgated by the Audubon Society , was the invention of Gilbert White; he was the original exponent, as far as I know, of the close seasonal observation of Nature, a branch of science known to the pedantic as phenology. He was the first to perceive the value in the study of migration (then

234-597: A character. A documentary about White, presented by historian Michael Wood , was broadcast by BBC Four in 2006. White is commemorated in the inscription on one of eight bells installed in 2009 at Holybourne , Hampshire and in the Perivale Wood Local Nature Reserve, which is dedicated to his memory. The Reserve is owned and managed by the Selborne Society, named to commemorate White's Natural History . White's frequent accounts of

273-454: A disputed fact) and of banding or ringing birds, though it was Audubon who first performed the experiment. No professional ornithologist ever did so much to widen interest in birds; from White's pages they cock a friendly eye at us, and hop out of his leaves right over our thresholds." 'White's other contributions to the field of natural history are impressive, for example, his close observation and recording of events over time led him to develop

312-715: A full-time writer in 1974. He spent most of his life among the beechwoods of the Chilterns . He now lives in the Waveney Valley in Norfolk, with his partner Polly Lavender, and retreats to a boat on the Norfolk Broads . He appeared in a 1975 episode of the BBC Television series The World About Us , "In Deepest Britain", with John Gooders and other naturalists, giving an unscripted narration of

351-469: A small and despicable link in the chain of nature, yet, if lost, would make a lamentable chasm. [...] worms seem to be the great promoters of vegetation, which would proceed but lamely without them... The later naturalist Charles Darwin , when asked in 1870 about books that had deeply impressed him in his youth, mentioned White's writings. However, in Darwin's book, The Formation of Vegetable Mould: Through

390-650: A trained barrister and Anne Holt (d. 1740). Gilbert was the eldest of eight surviving siblings, Thomas (b. 1724), Benjamin (b. 1725), Rebecca (b. 1726), John (b. 1727), Francis (b. 1728/29), Anne (b. 1731), and Henry (b. 1733). Gilbert's family lived briefly at Compton, Surrey , before moving into 'The Wakes' in 1728, that was to be his home for the rest of his long life. Gilbert White was educated in Basingstoke by Thomas Warton , father of Joseph Warton and Thomas Warton , who would have been Gilbert's school fellows. There are also suggestions that he may have attended

429-712: A writer. White and William Markwick collected records of the dates of emergence of more than 400 plant and animal species, White recording in Hampshire and Markwick in Sussex between 1768 and 1793. These data, summarised in The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne as the earliest and latest dates for each event over the 25-year period, are among the earliest examples of modern phenology . American nature writer, Donald C. Peattie , writes in The Road of

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468-512: Is presented as a compilation of his letters to Thomas Pennant , the leading British zoologist of the day, and the Hon. Daines Barrington , an English barrister and another Fellow of the Royal Society , though a number of the 'letters' such as the first nine were never posted, and were written especially for the book. The book has been continuously in print since its first publication. It

507-708: The Holy Ghost School before going to Oriel College, Oxford in December 1739. He took his degree as Bachelor of Arts in June 1743. In March 1744 he was elected fellow of the college. In October 1746 he became Master of Arts. White obtained his deacon 's orders in 1746, being fully ordained in 1749, and subsequently held several curacies in Hampshire and Wiltshire , including Selborne's neighbouring parishes of Newton Valence and Farringdon , as well as Selborne itself on four separate occasions. In 1752/53 White held

546-466: The Middle Ages , although some argue that their writings about animals and plants cannot be correctly classified as natural history . Notable early parson-naturalists were William Turner (1508–1568), John Ray (1627–1705), William Derham (1657–1735), and Gilbert White (1720–1793). The 19th century witnessed the wide proliferation of the tradition, which continued into the 20th century. Among

585-680: The Whitbread Biography of the Year , the Royal Society of Literature 's Ondaatje Prize for evoking the spirit of place and the J. R. Ackerley Prize for Autobiography . He has edited and introduced editions of Richard Jefferies , Gilbert White , Flora Thompson and Peter Matthiessen . His contributions to BBC radio include "The Scientist and the Romantic", a series of five essays on his lifelong relationship with science and

624-848: The Yorkshire Dales , and a Channel 4 eight-part series – Back to the Roots – explored the role of plants in Britain's contemporary culture. In the 1990s he often appeared on the BBC's Country File . Between 1982 and 1986 he sat on the UK government's advisory body, the Nature Conservancy Council . Mabey writes regularly for The Guardian , the New Statesman , The Times and Granta . A selection of these writings

663-456: The 19th century parson-naturalists were for instance George Thomas Rudd (1795-1847), John Stevens Henslow (1796–1861), Leonard Jenyns (1800–1893), William Darwin Fox (1805–1880), Charles William Benson (1836–1919) and Francis Linley Blathwayt (1875–1953). Charles Darwin aspired to be a parson-naturalist until his return from his voyage aboard Beagle . Parson-naturalism declined in

702-585: The Action of Worms, with Observations of Their Habits (1881), there is no acknowledgement of White's earlier work in The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne on the significance of earthworms in creating and maintaining topsoil. It has been argued that Darwin might not have propounded the theory of evolution without White's pioneering fieldwork establishing the importance of close observation. Rather than studying dead specimens, White observed live birds and animals in their own habitats over many years; creating

741-585: The Country , for whose eight, 40-minute episodes he was series producer , as well as being the producer- director on four. The book of the series Postcards from the Country: living memories of the British countryside (by Peter Marren and Mike Birkhead) includes a foreword by Mabey. "White Rock, Black Water" (1985) was a specially-written episode of the series The Natural World , about the limestone country of

780-729: The Gilbert White Museum, a registered charity . The Selborne Society was founded in 1895 to perpetuate the memory of Gilbert White. It purchased land by the Grand Union Canal at Perivale in West London to create the first Bird Sanctuary in Britain, known as Perivale Wood . In the 1970s, Perivale Wood became a Local Nature Reserve . This initiative was led by a group of young naturalists, notably Edward Dawson and Peter Edwards, Kevin Roberts and Andrew Duff. It

819-925: The Open Spaces Society, Patron of the John Clare Society and President of the Waveney and Blythe Arts. His life of Gilbert White won the 1986 Whitbread Biography of the Year . His Flora Britannica won the British Book Awards ' Illustrated Book of the Year and the Botanical Society of the British Isles ' President's Award, and was runner-up for the BP Natural World Book Prize . He

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858-401: The air. But they soon settled again in heaps on the shingles; where preening their feathers to admit the rays of the sun, they seemed highly to enjoy the warm situation.' White's scientific outlook was coloured by his theology. He did not have grand theories, plan experiments and replicate them as a modern scientist would: he was more freewheeling and, arguably, as a consequence more appealing as

897-424: The behest of his uncle, he was ineligible to be considered for the permanent living of Selborne, which was in the gift of Magdalen College . White died in 1793 and was buried in the graveyard of St Mary's Church, Selborne . White is regarded by many as England 's first ecologist , and one of those who shaped the modern attitude of respect for nature. He said of the earthworm : Earthworms, though in appearance

936-432: The dramatic climatic impacts of the volcanic ' Laki haze ' that spread from Iceland with lethal consequences across Europe. White's sister Anne was married to Thomas Barker (1722–1809), called 'The father of meteorology', and Gilbert maintained a correspondence with his nephew Samuel Barker , who also kept a naturalist's journal. White is best known for his The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne (1789). This

975-430: The idea of the 'food chain', laying the foundations for the modern study of ecology; he discovered a distinction between three species of leaf warblers based on their different songs; he pioneered modern theories on bird territory and its effects on their population. Even today, most naturalists will have read White and often refer to his work for its insights and investigative achievements.' His 1783–84 diary corroborates

1014-622: The natural environment broadcast in The Essay on Radio 3 in 2009, and Changing Climates , on our everyday experience of living with the weather, in 2013. Mabey was the first president of the London Wildlife Trust and later a vice-president; Mabey's Meadow, named for him by the London Wildlife Trust, was one of his favourite haunts, and is described in his book The Unofficial Countryside (1974). It provides

1053-486: The office of Junior Proctor at Oxford and was Dean of Oriel. In 1757 he became non-resident perpetual curate of Moreton Pinkney in Northamptonshire . After the death of his father in 1758, White moved back into the family home at The Wakes in Selborne, which he eventually inherited in 1763. In 1784 he became curate of Selborne for the fourth time, remaining so until his death. Having studied at Oriel, at

1092-502: The only access to Frays Island in the River Colne . Mabey has been awarded two Leverhulme Fellowships, and honorary doctorates by St Andrews, Essex and East Anglia for his contributions to nature writing . He was awarded a Civil List Pension in 2008 for services to literature. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2011. He is a Trustee of the arts and conservation charity Common Ground, vice-president of

1131-442: The tops of hedges and bushes'; and ' Woodpeckers fly volatu undosu [in an undulating flight], opening and closing their wings at every stroke, and so are always rising and falling in curves.' White has often been seen as an amateur "country writer", especially by the scientific community. However, he has been called "the indispensable precursor to those great Victorians who would transform our ideas about life on Earth, especially in

1170-500: The twentieth century. Armstrong covers two men, the ornithologist Charles Earle Raven (1885–1964) and his own father, Edward Allworthy Armstrong (1900–1978), whom he describes as an authority on "bird behaviour and bird song". The Times publishes a letter every year from the Reverend Prebendary John Woolmer recording the status of the dung-feeding forest butterfly, the purple emperor . Woolmer has

1209-445: The undergrowth – Lyell, Spencer, Huxley and Darwin." He is also under-rated as a pioneer of modern scientific research methods, particularly fieldwork. As Mabey argues, the blending of scientific and emotional responses to Nature was White's greatest legacy: "it helped foster the growth of ecology and the realisation that humans were also part of the natural scheme of things." The White family house in Selborne, The Wakes , now contains

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1248-417: The wildlife observed during a country walk. He wrote and presented later episodes of the series, including "The Unofficial Countryside" (1975), "The Flowering of Britain" (1980) and "A Prospect of Kew", about Kew Gardens (1981). "The Unofficial Countryside" and "The Flowering of Britain" were based on his books of the same names. He also wrote and narrated the 1996 BBC television series Postcards from

1287-668: The word "golly", in a journal entry from 1775. Finally, the OED gives White credit for first having used x to represent a kiss in a letter written in 1763. Parson-naturalist The natural theologians John Ray (1627–1705) and William Paley (1743–1805) argued that the elaborate complexity of the world of nature was evidence for the existence of a creator. Accordingly, a parson-naturalist frequently made use of his insights into philosophy and theology when interpreting what he observed in natural history . The tradition of clerical naturalists may be traced back to some monastic writings of

1326-478: Was 'one of the first writers to show that it was possible to write of the natural world with a fresh and intensely personal vision without in any way sacrificing precision'. Thus, Richard Mabey quotes White: 'during this lovely weather the congregating flocks of house martins on the Church and tower were very beautiful and very amusing! When they flew off all together from the roof, on any alarm, they quite swarmed in

1365-642: Was at Rothesay School , followed by Berkhamsted Preparatory School and then Berkhamsted School . He then went to St Catherine's College at the University of Oxford where he read Philosophy, Politics and Economics . After Oxford, Mabey worked as a lecturer in Social Studies in Further Education at Dacorum College , Hemel Hempstead , then as a senior editor at Penguin Books . He became

1404-492: Was compiled as the book Country Matters . He has written a personal column in BBC Wildlife magazine since 1984, and a selection of these columns has been published as A Brush with Nature . Between 2000 and 2002 Mabey suffered from depression, and his book Nature Cure , describing his experiences and recovery in the context of man's relationship with landscape and nature, was short-listed for three major literary awards:

1443-736: Was designated by Ealing Borough Council under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 . Flora Thompson , the countryside novelist, said of White: "It is easy to imagine him, this very first of English nature writers, the most sober and modest, yet happiest of men." White is quoted by Merlyn in The Once and Future King by T.H. White and in The Boy in Grey by Henry Kingsley , in which White's thrush appears as

1482-520: Was installed in 1920. White's influence on artists is celebrated in the exhibition Drawn to Nature: Gilbert White and the Artists taking place in spring 2020 at Pallant House Gallery in Chichester to mark the 300th anniversary of his birth, and including artworks by Thomas Bewick , Eric Ravilious and John Piper , amongst others. White is credited with perhaps the earliest written record of

1521-565: Was long held, "probably apocryphally", to be the fourth-most published book in the English language after the Bible , the works of Shakespeare , and John Bunyan 's The Pilgrim's Progress . White's biographer, Richard Mabey , praises White's expressiveness: What is striking is the way Gilbert [White] often arranges his sentence structure to echo the physical style of a bird's flight. So 'The white-throat uses odd jerks and gesticulations over

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