Gilbert White & Shakespeare

This blog was written in 2017.  Next week Gilbert White’s garden will play host to chapter house theatre company’s production of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. White doesn’t often refer to plays or fiction in his writings, but was well read, in letter three of The Natural History of Selborne

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Gilbert White & The French Revolution

Gilbert White lived through important political times and one of the biggest world events towards the end of his life was the French Revolution, of which events although seem far removed from Selborne were to catapult Britain into a long war with France. On Saturday 15th we are celebrating with

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Jane Austen and Gilbert White

The quiet village of Selborne home to Gilbert White seems quite removed from the famous village of Chawton during the time of Jane Austen, however the lives of these two literary figures were not so disconnected, their lives overlapped by eighteen years and their homes were only four miles from

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10 facts about Lawrence Oates

10 facts about Lawrence Oates St. Patrick’s Day is a very special day for us at Gilbert White & The Oates Collections… 1. It’s his birthday and death day.  Lawrence Edward Grace Oates was born on the 17th March 1880, to William and Caroline Oates at their home Gestingthorpe Hall

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frank oates

Ten Things you might not know about Frank Oates

We celebrate three explorers here at Gilbert White & The Oates Collections, but the most elusive is Frank Oates (1840-1875). Here are ten things you might not know about Frank Oates, who died on the 5th February 1875. 1) One of the first Europeans to reach Victoria Falls The first

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