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Revision as of 05:25, 16 January 2014
Margaret Massey Hutchinson (1904-1997) was an English educator, naturalist and author. She was closely involved with Haslemere Educational Museum which was founded by her grandfather Sir Jonathan Hutchinson and established and ran a Froebel school in West Sussex for 25 years. She made a lifelong study of the natural world, including a specialist study of plant galls.
Early life
Margaret Hutchinson was born on 18 December 1904 into a large Quaker family in Haslemere, the fifth of nine children of Herbert Hutchinson and Elizabeth (Ella) Woods. Herbert’s father was Sir Jonathan Hutchinson FRS, the eminent surgeon, to whom Margaret was also related on her mother’s side.[1]
Her early years were spent in an extremely rural environment where she developed a deep understanding of, and love for the natural world, something that would be a feature of her writing and teaching life. She described these first years in detail in her biography A Childhood in Edwardian Sussex: The making of a naturalist.[1]
Teacher, naturalist and writer
In 1931 Froebel-trained Hutchinson opened Yafflesmead School at the family home in Kingsley Green, near Haslemere, in which for 25 years she provided a Froebel Kindergarten education for boys and girls between 1931 and 1955. Close friend and editor Penny Hollow wrote:
- "Many former pupils still have fond memories of Margaret Hutchinson and how she opened their eyes to the world around them".[2][3]
David Kynaston quoted a parent in his book Austerity Britain:
- "Yafflesmead is rather like home on a larger scale... cosy, no long corridors, no bleak classrooms".[4][5][6]
A serious naturalist but with a keen sense of fun[2] Margaret Hutchinson included the study of nature in all her teaching. Her first book Children as Naturalists[7] was published in 1947 and gained her a wider reputation; the book sold for over 30 years and was favourably reviewed in Nature.[8]
Yafflesmead closed in 1955[2] and was sold in 1957;[9] subsequently Hutchinson dedicated herself to writing and study. She was active at Haslemere Educational Museum as committee member, Honorary Librarian and trustee, where she often enthused parties of local school children about nature. She was a member of Haslemere Natural History Society for 74 years, wrote a column for the local newspaper for over 20 years and contributed to journals.[2]
In her 60s Hutchinson took up the study of plant galls (cecidology), soon becoming an expert and contributing to the Journal of the British Plant Gall Society.[10] She continued the study until her last days, eventually donating her carefully-indexed collection to the Haslemere Museum. Her journals, covering nearly 80 years, are also at the Museum.[2]
Margaret Hutchinson never married; she died on 30 June 1997, aged 93,[11] in Haslemere. The Centenary revised re-issue of An Edwardian Childhood sold its first print run on the day of publication.[12]
Books
- Children as naturalists (George Allen & Unwin, 1947)
- A Childhood in Edwardian Sussex: The making of a naturalist (Saiga Publishing, 1981 ISBN 0862300401)
- A Childhood in Edwardian Sussex Revised (Triplegate, 1983 ISBN 0946474133)
- The study of galls caused by insects (School Natural Science Society No. 32) (M J Wootton, 1968)
- Trolls and their relatives (Allen & Unwin, 1953)
What can you find…? series:
- In a wood (Educational Supply Association, 1952)
- In Hedge and Field (Educational Supply Association, 1955)
- Along a river bank (Educational Supply Association, 1960)
Making and keeping series:
- A Bird Table (Ward Lock Educational, 1957 ISBN 0706271025)
- A Box Garden (Ward Lock Educational, 1960 ISBN 0706271017
- A Vegetable Garden (Ward Lock Educational, 1965 ISBN 0706271009)
Out of doors series:
- Exploring a park (Educational Supply Association, 1962)
National Froebel Foundation:
- From seed to seed: A simple gardening project with young children (1955)
- Practical nature study in town schools (1961)
Further reading
- An Edwardian Childhood: The making of a naturalist (Centenary edition by Penny Hollow, with additional unpublished material) (John Owen Smith, 4th New edition 2003 ISBN 1873855478) - illustrated with drawings by the original author and family photographs
References
- ^ a b A Childhood in Edwardian Sussex: The making of a naturalist. Saiga Publishing. 1981.
- ^ a b c d e Hutchinson, Margaret, ed. Penny Hollow (2003). An Edwardian Childhood: The Making of a Naturalist. John Owen Smith.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Fernhurst Society Newsletter No.37: Margaret Hutchinson in Kingsley Green". Retrieved 16 Jan 2014.
- ^ Kynaston, David (2007). Austerity Britain 1945-1951. Bloomsbury Publishing.
- ^ "Pupils from Yafflesmead (Getty Images)". Retrieved 16 Jan 2014.
- ^ "Yafflesmead: Children studying, 1950 (Corbis Images)". Retrieved 16 Jan 2014.
- ^ Hutchinson, Margaret (1947). Children as Naturalists. George Allen & Unwin.
- ^ "Nature: Children as Naturalists (Abstract)". Retrieved 16 Jan 2014.
- ^ "Essex Record Office: Sale Catalogue of Yafflesmead, Kingsley Green". Retrieved 16 Jan 2014.
- ^ "Journal of the British Plant Gall Society" (PDF). Retrieved 16 Jan 2014.
- ^ "Catalog of Old Books & Authors". Retrieved 16 Jan 2014.
- ^ "Local bestseller gets a reprint". The Messenger. 21 January 2004.