1.
Warwick
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Warwick is the county town of Warwickshire, England. The town lies upon the River Avon,11 miles south of Coventry and just west of Leamington Spa, at the 2011 United Kingdom census, it had a population of 31,345. There was human activity at Warwick as early as the Neolithic period and it was a Saxon burh in the 9th century, Warwick Castle was established in 1068 as part of the Norman conquest of England. Warwick School claims to be the oldest boys school in the country, the earldom of Warwick was created in 1088 and the earls controlled the town in the medieval period and built town walls, of which Eastgate and Westgate survive. The castle developed into a fortress and then a country house and is today a popular tourist attraction. The Great Fire of Warwick in 1694 destroyed much of the medieval town, though Warwick did not become industrialised in the 19th century, it has experienced growth since 1801 when the population was 5,592. Racing Club Warwick F. C. founded in 1919, is based in the town, the town is administered by Warwick District Council and Warwickshire County Council has its headquarters in Warwick. Human activity on the site of the dates back to the Neolithic. From the 6th century onwards, Warwick has been continuously inhabited and it was one of ten burhs built to defend the kingdom of Mercia against the Danes. Warwick was chosen as the site for one of these fortifications because of its proximity to the important transport routes of the Fosse Way, in the early 10th century a new shire was founded with Warwick as its administrative centre, giving the settlement new importance. The name Warwick means dwellings by the weir, in 1050 the Danes invaded Mercia and burned down much of Warwick including the nunnery. William the Conqueror founded Warwick Castle in 1068 on his way to Yorkshire to deal with rebellion in the north, building a castle within a pre-existing settlement could require demolishing properties on the site, and in the case of Warwick four houses were pulled down. The castle was within the larger Anglo-Saxon burh and a new wall was created close to the rampart of the burh. In the medieval period Warwick remained under the control of various Earls of Warwick, mostly of the Beauchamp family, today the only remains of the town walls are the east and west gatehouses. The eastern gatehouse is now a home, but formerly served as part of the Kings High School. Warwick was not incorporated as a borough until 1545, the towns Priory was founded in 1142 on the site of the current Priory Park. During the English Civil War the town and castle were garrisoned for Parliament, the garrison, under Sir Edward Peyto, withstood a two-week siege by the Royalists. Later musters from 1644 to 1646 record a garrison of up to 350 men under the command of Colonel William Purefoy, the middle of the 17th century also saw the founding of Castle Hill Baptist Church, one of the oldest Baptist churches in the world
2.
Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester
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Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester KG was an English nobleman and the favourite and close friend of Elizabeth Is, from her first year on the throne until his death. He was a suitor for the hand for many years. Dudleys youth was overshadowed by the downfall of his family in 1553 after his father, Robert Dudley was condemned to death but was released in 1554 and took part in the Battle of St. Quentin under Philip II of Spain, which led to his full rehabilitation. On Elizabeth Is accession in November 1558, Dudley was appointed Master of the Horse, in October 1562, he became a Privy Councillor and, in 1587, was appointed Lord Steward of the Royal Household. In 1564, Dudley became Earl of Leicester and, from 1563, one of the greatest landowners in North Wales, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, was one of Elizabeths leading statesmen, involved in domestic as well as foreign politics alongside William Cecil and Francis Walsingham. Although he refused to be married to Mary, Queen of Scots, Dudley was for a time relatively sympathetic to her until, from the mid-1580s. As patron of the Puritan movement, he supported non-conforming preachers, a champion also of the international Protestant cause, he led the English campaign in support of the Dutch Revolt. His acceptance of the post of Governor-General of the United Provinces infuriated Queen Elizabeth, the expedition was a military and political failure, and it ruined the Earl financially. Leicester was engaged in many business ventures and was one of the main backers of Francis Drake. During the Spanish Armada, the Earl was in command of the English land forces. In this function, he invited Queen Elizabeth to visit her troops at Tilbury and this was the last of many events he had organised over the years, the most spectacular being the festival at his seat Kenilworth Castle in 1575 on occasion of a three-week visit by the Queen. Dudley was a patron of the arts, literature. Robert Dudleys private life interfered with his career and vice versa. When his first wife, Amy Robsart, fell down a flight of stairs and died in 1560, however, the resulting scandal very much reduced his chances in this respect. Popular rumours that he had arranged for his wifes death continued throughout his life, for 18 years he did not remarry for Queen Elizabeths sake and when he finally did, his new wife, Lettice Knollys, was permanently banished from court. This and the death of his legitimate son and heir were heavy blows. Shortly after the death in 1584, a virulent libel known as Leicesters Commonwealth was circulated in England. It laid the foundation of a literary and historiographical tradition that depicted the Earl as the Machiavellian master courtier
3.
Listed building
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A listed building or listed structure, in the United Kingdom, is one that has been placed on the Statutory List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest. The statutory bodies maintaining the list are Historic England in England, Cadw in Wales, Historic Scotland in Scotland, however, the preferred term in Ireland is protected structure. In England and Wales, an amenity society must be notified of any work to a listed building which involves any element of demolition. Owners of listed buildings are, in circumstances, compelled to repair and maintain them. When alterations are permitted, or when listed buildings are repaired or maintained, slightly different systems operate in each area of the United Kingdom, though the basic principles of the listing remain the same. It was the damage to caused by German bombing during World War II that prompted the first listing of buildings that were deemed to be of particular architectural merit. The listings were used as a means of determining whether a building should be rebuilt if it was damaged by bombing. Listing was first introduced into Northern Ireland under the Planning Order 1972, the listing process has since developed slightly differently in each part of the UK. In the UK, the process of protecting the historic environment is called ‘designation’. A heritage asset is a part of the environment that is valued because of its historic. Only some of these are judged to be important enough to have legal protection through designation. However, buildings that are not formally listed but still judged as being of heritage interest are still regarded as being a consideration in the planning process. Almost anything can be listed – it does not have to be a building, Buildings and structures of special historic interest come in a wide variety of forms and types, ranging from telephone boxes and road signs, to castles. Historic England has created twenty broad categories of structures, and published selection guides for each one to aid with assessing buildings and these include historical overviews and describe the special considerations for listing each category. Both Historic Scotland and Cadw produce guidance for owners, in England, to have a building considered for listing or delisting, the process is to apply to the secretary of state, this can be done by submitting an application form online to Historic England. The applicant does not need to be the owner of the building to apply for it to be listed, full information including application form guidance notes are on the Historic England website. Historic England assesses buildings put forward for listing or delisting and provides advice to the Secretary of State on the architectural, the Secretary of State, who may seek additional advice from others, then decides whether or not to list or delist the building. In England and Wales the authority for listing is granted to the Secretary of State by the Planning Act 1990, Listed buildings in danger of decay are listed on the Historic England Heritage at Risk Register
4.
Richard II of England
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Richard II, also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed on 30 September 1399. Richard, a son of Edward, the Black Prince, was born in Bordeaux during the reign of his grandfather, Edward III. Richard was the brother of Edward of Angoulême, upon whose death, Richard. Upon the death of Richards father prior to the death of Edward III, Richard, by primogeniture, with Edward IIIs death the following year, Richard succeeded to the throne at the age of ten. During Richards first years as king, government was in the hands of a series of councils, most of the aristocracy preferred this to a regency led by the kings uncle, John of Gaunt, yet Gaunt remained highly influential. The first major challenge of the reign was the Peasants Revolt in 1381, the young king played a major part in the successful suppression of this crisis. By 1389 Richard had regained control, and for the eight years governed in relative harmony with his former opponents. In 1397, Richard took his revenge on the appellants, many of whom were executed or exiled, the next two years have been described by historians as Richards tyranny. In 1399, after John of Gaunt died, the king disinherited Gaunts son, Henry of Bolingbroke, Henry invaded England in June 1399 with a small force that quickly grew in numbers. Claiming initially that his goal was only to reclaim his patrimony, meeting little resistance, Bolingbroke deposed Richard and had himself crowned as King Henry IV. Richard died in captivity in February 1400, he is thought to have starved to death. Richard was said to have tall, good-looking and intelligent. Less warlike than either his father or grandfather, he sought to bring an end to the Hundred Years War that Edward III had started, modern historians do not accept this interpretation, while not exonerating Richard from responsibility for his own deposition. While probably not insane, as historians of the 19th and 20th centuries believed, Richard of Bordeaux was the younger son of Edward, the Black Prince, and Joan of Kent. Edward, heir to the throne of England, had distinguished himself as a commander in the early phases of the Hundred Years War. After further military adventures, however, he contracted dysentery in Spain in 1370 and he never fully recovered and had to return to England the next year. Joan of Kent had been at the centre of a dispute between Thomas Holland, Earl of Kent, and William Montacute, Earl of Salisbury, from which Holland emerged victorious. Less than a year after Hollands death in 1360, Joan married Prince Edward, since she was a granddaughter of King Edward I and a first cousin of King Edward III, the marriage required papal approval
5.
Collegiate Church of St Mary, Warwick
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The Collegiate Church of St Mary is a Church of England parish church in the town of Warwick, England. It is in the centre of the town just east of the market place and it is a member of the Greater Churches Group. The church has the status of church as it had a college of secular canons. In governance and religious observance it was similar to a cathedral, there is a Bishop of Warwick, but this is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Diocese of Coventry. The church foundations date back nearly nine hundred years, being created by Roger de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Warwick, in addition to founding the church, de Beaumont established the College of Dean and Canons at the church. The only surviving part of the Norman church which de Beaumont had built is the crypt, the chancel vestries and chapter house of the church were extensively rebuilt in the 14th century by a later Earl of Warwick, Thomas de Beauchamp, in the Perpendicular Gothic style. His descendants built the Chapel of Our Lady, commonly known as the Beauchamp Chapel and it contains the effigial monuments of Richard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick, Ambrose Dudley, 3rd Earl of Warwick, and Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester. Buried in the chancel of the church is William Parr, 1st Marquess of Northampton, the college was dissolved in 1546, and the church was granted by the crown to the burgesses of Warwick. The church, along much of Warwick, was devastated by the Great Fire of Warwick in 1693. The nave and tower of the building were completely destroyed, in 1704, the rebuilt church was completed in a Gothic design by William Wilson. Sir Christopher Wren is also said to have contributed to the design, the tower rises to the height of 130 feet. The design was described by John Summerson as being as remarkable for its success as for its independence in style from other seventeenth-century English Gothic, there are two organs in St. Marys, the transept organ and one at the west end. The specifications of both organs can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register
6.
Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick
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Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick KG, known as Warwick the Kingmaker, was an English nobleman, administrator, and military commander. The son of Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury, Warwick was the wealthiest and most powerful English peer of his age, through fortunes of marriage and inheritance, Warwick emerged in the 1450s at the centre of English politics. Originally he was a supporter of King Henry VI, however, from this conflict he gained the strategically valuable post of Captain of Calais, a position that benefited him greatly in the years to come. The political conflict later turned into rebellion, where in battle York was slain. Yorks son, however, later triumphed with Warwicks assistance, and was crowned King Edward IV, Edward initially ruled with Warwicks support, but the two later fell out over foreign policy and the kings choice of Elizabeth Woodville as his wife. After a failed plot to crown Edwards brother, George, Duke of Clarence, the triumph was short-lived however, on 14 April 1471 Warwick was defeated by Edward at the Battle of Barnet, and killed. The elder of his two daughters, Isabel, married George, Duke of Clarence and his younger daughter Anne had a short-lived marriage to King Henrys son Edward of Westminster, who died in battle at the age of 17. She then married King Edwards younger brother Richard, Duke of Gloucester, Warwicks historical legacy has been a matter of much dispute. Historical opinion has alternated between seeing him as self-centred and rash, and regarding him as a victim of the whims of an ungrateful king. It is generally agreed, however, that in his own time he enjoyed popularity in all layers of society. The Nevilles, an ancient Durham family, came to prominence in Englands fourteenth-century wars against the Scots, in 1397 King Richard II made Ralph Neville Earl of Westmorland. Ralphs son Richard, the later Earl of Warwicks father, was a son by a second marriage. He received a settlement, however, and became jure uxoris Earl of Salisbury through his marriage to Alice, daughter and heiress of Thomas Montacute. Salisburys son Richard, the later Earl of Warwick, was born on 22 November 1428, at the age of six, Richard was betrothed to Anne Beauchamp, daughter of Richard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick, and of his wife Isabel Despenser. This made him not only to the earldom of Salisbury, but also to a substantial part of the Montague, Beauchamp. Circumstances would, however, increase his fortune even further, Beauchamps son Henry, who had married the younger Richards sister Cecily, died in 1446. When Henrys daughter Anne died in 1449, Richard also found himself jure uxoris Earl of Warwick, Richards succession to the estates did not go undisputed, however. A protracted battle over parts of the inheritance ensued, particularly with Edmund Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset, the dispute centred on land, not on the Warwick title, as Henrys half-sisters were excluded from the succession
7.
Henry VIII of England
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Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. Henry was the second Tudor monarch, succeeding his father, Henry VII, Henry is best known for his six marriages and, in particular, his efforts to have his first marriage, to Catherine of Aragon, annulled. Despite his resulting excommunication, Henry remained a believer in core Catholic theological teachings, domestically, Henry is known for his radical changes to the English Constitution, ushering in the theory of the divine right of kings to England. Besides asserting the supremacy over the Church of England, he greatly expanded royal power during his reign. Charges of treason and heresy were commonly used to quash dissent, and he achieved many of his political aims through the work of his chief ministers, some of whom were banished or executed when they fell out of his favour. Thomas Wolsey, Thomas More, Thomas Cromwell, Richard Rich and his contemporaries considered Henry in his prime to be an attractive, educated, and accomplished king, and he has been described as one of the most charismatic rulers to sit on the English throne. He was an author and composer, as he aged, Henry became severely obese and his health suffered, contributing to his death in 1547. He is frequently characterised in his life as a lustful, egotistical, harsh. He was succeeded by his son Edward VI, born 28 June 1491 at the Palace of Placentia in Greenwich, London, Henry Tudor was the third child and second son of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York. Of the young Henrys six siblings, only three – Arthur, Prince of Wales, Margaret, and Mary – survived infancy and he was baptised by Richard Fox, the Bishop of Exeter, at a church of the Observant Franciscans close to the palace. In 1493, at the age of two, Henry was appointed Constable of Dover Castle and Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports. He was subsequently appointed Earl Marshal of England and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland at age three, and was inducted into the Order of the Bath soon after. The day after the ceremony he was created Duke of York, in May 1495, he was appointed to the Order of the Garter. Henry was given an education from leading tutors, becoming fluent in Latin and French. Not much is known about his early life – save for his appointments – because he was not expected to become king, as Duke of York, Henry used the arms of his father as king, differenced by a label of three points ermine. In 1502, Arthur died at the age of 15 of sweating sickness, Arthurs death thrust all his duties upon his younger brother, the 10-year-old Henry. After a little debate, Henry became the new Duke of Cornwall in October 1502, Henry VII gave the boy few tasks. Young Henry was strictly supervised and did not appear in public, as a result, the young Henry would later ascend the throne untrained in the exacting art of kingship
8.
Warwick School
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Warwick School is an independent school with boarding facilities for boys in Warwick, England. It is the fifth-oldest surviving school in England after Kings School, Canterbury, Kings School, Rochester, St Peters School, York and it is the oldest boys-only school in the United Kingdom. It was active in the reign of King Edward the Confessor and its headmasters have been members of the Headmaster and Headmistresses Conference since 1896. Entrance to Warwick School is competitive, with points at 12+, 13+. Starting in the academic year 2016-17 were 983 boys in the school, aged from 11 to 18. It forms part of the Warwick Independent Schools Foundation which includes Warwick School, Kings High School for Girls, boys in the senior school are put into one of six houses which compete against each other in sports and other activities, such as debating. The house system is now combined with the system of forms, six of the houses are named after people connected with the history of the town of Warwick. School House, formerly for boarders only, is now open to day-boys as well, the Junior School has four houses named after more general historical figures. The first time that school has ever been recorded in books and records was in the time of 914 under the rule of Ethlfleda. This, the oldest surviving grammar school in the world, was active in the time of King Edward the Confessor and probably for a century earlier. By 1477 lessons were held in the old church of St John the Baptist in the Market Place, and the school was still there when King Henry VIII re-founded it as The Kings New Scole of Warwyke in 1545. At this point the new school moved to what is now the Lord Leycester Hospital. The grammar school moved to the medieval buildings of the Vicars Choral in St Marys churchyard around 1697. Despite initially thriving, with up to 60 boarders, by the end of the 18th century there were no boarders and very few, if any, in 1792 there began the 50-year tenure of Rev George Innes as Master, and the schools fortunes once again fluctuated wildly. Educational reforms and the shake-up of local charities dramatically improved the school under Rev Herbert Hill, and it was only in 1871, though, that a list of the 50 or so pupils attending the school began to be kept. Three new schools were proposed in the 1870s, and had all operations by 1879. The late Victorian era was one of success and growth. A Junior Department was opened in 1889, and even a laboratory was constructed
9.
Royal charter
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A royal charter is a formal document issued by a monarch as letters patent, granting a right or power to an individual or a body corporate. They were, and are still, used to establish significant organisations such as cities or universities, Charters should be distinguished from warrants and letters of appointment, as they have perpetual effect. Typically, a Royal Charter is produced as a high-quality work of calligraphy on vellum, the British monarchy has issued over 980 royal charters. Of these about 750 remain in existence, the earliest was to the town of Tain in 1066, making it the oldest Royal Burgh in Scotland, followed by the University of Cambridge in 1231. Charters continue to be issued by the British Crown, a recent example being that awarded to the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity, Charters have been used in Europe since medieval times to create cities. The date that such a charter is granted is considered to be when a city is founded, at one time, a royal charter was the sole means by which an incorporated body could be formed, but other means are generally used nowadays instead. In the period before 1958,32 higher education institutes had been created by royal charter and these were typically engineering or technical institutions rather than universities. Royal decrees can therefore no longer grant higher education status or university status. A Royal Charter is granted by Order in Council, either creating an incorporated body and this is an exercise of the Royal Prerogative, and, in Canada, there are hundreds of organisations under Royal Charters. Such organisations include charities, businesses, colleges, universities, today, it is mostly charities and professional institutions who receive Royal Charters. Application for a charter is a petition to the Queen-in-Council, however, meeting these benchmarks does not guarantee the issuance of a Royal Charter. Companies, corporations, and societies in Canada founded under or augmented by a Royal Charter include, Royal Charter was issued in August 1826 to purchase and develop lands. Purchased the Crown Reserve of 1,384,413 acres, cities under Royal Charter are not subject to municipal Acts of Parliament applied generally to other municipalities, and instead are governed by legislation applicable to each city individually. The Royal Charter codifies the laws applied to the particular city, the Universitys Pontifical Charter was granted by Pope Leo XIII in 1889. Several Canadian private schools were founded or reconstituted under Royal Charter, the Royal Gibraltar Post Office was granted Royal Charter in 2005. The Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club obtained Royal Charter in 1959 and it is one of the three banknote-issuing banks in Hong Kong. The Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch Chartered originally in 1847, disbanded 1859, the Institution of Engineers was incorporated by royal charter in 1935. A number of Irish institutions retain the Royal prefix, even though Republic of Ireland severed all remaining connections between the state and the British monarch in 1949, the University of South Africa received a Royal Charter in 1877
10.
Elizabeth I of England
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Elizabeth I was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, his second wife, who was executed two and a half years after Elizabeths birth. Annes marriage to Henry VIII was annulled, and Elizabeth was declared illegitimate, edwards will was set aside and Mary became queen, deposing Lady Jane Grey. During Marys reign, Elizabeth was imprisoned for nearly a year on suspicion of supporting Protestant rebels, in 1558, Elizabeth succeeded her half-sister to the throne and set out to rule by good counsel. She depended heavily on a group of trusted advisers, led by William Cecil, one of her first actions as queen was the establishment of an English Protestant church, of which she became the Supreme Governor. This Elizabethan Religious Settlement was to evolve into the Church of England and it was expected that Elizabeth would marry and produce an heir to continue the Tudor line. She never did, despite numerous courtships, as she grew older, Elizabeth became famous for her virginity. A cult grew around her which was celebrated in the portraits, pageants, in government, Elizabeth was more moderate than her father and half-siblings had been. One of her mottoes was video et taceo, in religion, she was relatively tolerant and avoided systematic persecution. Elizabeth was cautious in foreign affairs, manoeuvring between the powers of France and Spain. She only half-heartedly supported a number of ineffective, poorly resourced military campaigns in the Netherlands, France, by the mid-1580s, England could no longer avoid war with Spain. Englands defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588 associated Elizabeth with one of the greatest military victories in English history, Elizabeths reign is known as the Elizabethan era. Some historians depict Elizabeth as a short-tempered, sometimes indecisive ruler, towards the end of her reign, a series of economic and military problems weakened her popularity. Such was the case with Elizabeths rival, Mary, Queen of Scots, after the short reigns of Elizabeths half-siblings, her 44 years on the throne provided welcome stability for the kingdom and helped forge a sense of national identity. Elizabeth was born at Greenwich Palace and was named after both her grandmothers, Elizabeth of York and Elizabeth Howard and she was the second child of Henry VIII of England born in wedlock to survive infancy. Her mother was Henrys second wife, Anne Boleyn, at birth, Elizabeth was the heir presumptive to the throne of England. She was baptised on 10 September, Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, the Marquess of Exeter, the Duchess of Norfolk, Elizabeth was two years and eight months old when her mother was beheaded on 19 May 1536, four months after Catherine of Aragons death from natural causes. Elizabeth was declared illegitimate and deprived of her place in the royal succession, eleven days after Anne Boleyns execution, Henry married Jane Seymour, who died shortly after the birth of their son, Prince Edward, in 1537
11.
Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother
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Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was the wife of King George VI and the mother of Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon. She was the last Empress consort of India, born into a family of British nobility, she came to prominence in 1923 when she married Albert, Duke of York, the second son of King George V and Queen Mary. The couple and their daughters embodied traditional ideas of family and public service and she undertook a variety of public engagements and became known as the Smiling Duchess because of her consistent public expression. In 1936, her husband became king when his brother, Edward VIII. She accompanied her husband on diplomatic tours to France and North America before the start of World War II, during the war, her seemingly indomitable spirit provided moral support to the British public. In recognition of her role as an asset to British interests, after the war, her husbands health deteriorated and she was widowed at the age of 51. Her elder daughter, aged 25, became the new queen, on the death of Queen Mary in 1953, Elizabeth became the most senior member of the British royal family after the sovereign, and was viewed as the family matriarch. In her later years, she was a popular member of the family. She continued a public life until just a few months before her death at the age of 101, seven weeks after the death of her younger daughter. Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was the youngest daughter and the ninth of ten children of Claude Bowes-Lyon, Lord Glamis, other possible locations include Forbes House in Ham, London, the home of her maternal grandmother, Louisa Scott. Her birth was registered at Hitchin, Hertfordshire, near the Strathmores English country house, St Pauls Walden Bury, which was also given as her birthplace in the census the following year. She was christened there on 23 September 1900, in the parish church, All Saints. She spent much of her childhood at St Pauls Walden and at Glamis Castle and she was educated at home by a governess until the age of eight, and was fond of field sports, ponies and dogs. When she started school in London, she astonished her teachers by precociously beginning an essay with two Greek words from Xenophons Anabasis and her best subjects were literature and scripture. After returning to education under a German Jewish governess, Käthe Kübler. On her fourteenth birthday, Britain declared war on Germany, four of her brothers served in the army. Her elder brother, Fergus, an officer in the Black Watch Regiment, was killed in action at the Battle of Loos in 1915, another brother, Michael, was reported missing in action on 28 April 1917. Three weeks later, the family discovered he had captured after being wounded
12.
Nilometer
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A nilometer was a structure for measuring the Nile Rivers clarity and water level during the annual flood season. It was a structure that measured how high the flood would be. If it was low, there would be famine, if it was too high, it would be destructive. There was a mark that indicated how high the flood should be if the fields were to get good soil. Between July and November, the reaches of the Nile running through Egypt would burst their banks, when the waters receded, around September or October, they left behind a rich alluvial deposit of exceptionally fertile black silt over the croplands. The akhet, or Season of the Inundation, was one of the three seasons into which the Ancient Egyptians divided their years and it would be difficult to overstate the importance of the annual flood to Egyptian civilization. Records from Pharaonic times indicate that on average, one out of every five saw an inundation that was either over-abundant or fell short of expectations. The ability to predict the volume of the inundation was part of the mystique of the Ancient Egyptian priesthood. The same skill also played a political and administrative role, since the quality of the flood was used to determine the levels of tax to be paid. This is where the nilometer came into play, with monitoring the day-to-day level of the river. The simplest nilometer design is a vertical column submerged in the waters of the river, one that follows this simple design, albeit housed in an elaborate and ornate stone structure, can still be seen on the island of Rhoda in central Cairo. While this nilometer dates only as far back as AD861 and it was built on a site occupied by an earlier specimen which was seen by the Syrian Orthodox patriarch Dionysius of Tel Mahre in 830. The second nilometer design comprises a flight of stairs leading down into the water, the best known example of this kind can be seen on the island of Elephantine in Aswan. The most elaborate design involved a channel or culvert that led from the riverbank – often running for a considerable distance – and then fed a well, tank, or cistern. These nilometer wells were most frequently located within the confines of temples, a particularly fine example, with a deep, cylindrical well and a culvert opening in the surrounding wall, can be seen at the Temple of Kom Ombo to the north of Aswan. While nilometers originated in Pharaonic times, they continued to be used by the civilizations that held sway in Egypt. In the 20th century, the Niles annual inundation was first greatly reduced, while the Aswan High Dams impact on Egypt and its agriculture has been controversial for other, more complex reasons, it has also had the additional effect of rendering the nilometer obsolete. Abbeloos, Jean Baptiste, Lamy, Thomas Joseph, eds
