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John Norris (1721–1786)
John Norris (1721 – 29 June 1786) was an English merchant and a member of the landed gentry. He was High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire in 1775. Biography Norris' father, Robert Norris (d. 1751) was a prosperous merchant in London, but through misfortune or mismanagement he lost all his money, and ended up in Fleet Prison (a debtor's prison). Fortunately his wife, Ellen Savage, came from a very wealthy family in Bishop's Tachbrook, Warwickshire, and when her father died she inherited property and lands worth £140,000. The young Norris was educated at Eton College, and when he was 17 he matriculated at Christ Church, Oxford. He was offered a demyship at Magdalen College, Oxford, from where he gained BA and MA degrees. He later obtained a Doctor of Civil Law. On his father's death, John Norris inherited land and property in Warwickshire, Hampshire, Buckinghamshire and in Islington. He had two manors, Hawley Place in Hawley, Hampshire and Hughenden Manor in High Wycombe, Buck ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Landed Gentry
The landed gentry, or the ''gentry'', is a largely historical British social class of landowners who could live entirely from rental income, or at least had a country estate. While distinct from, and socially below, the British peerage, their economic base in land was often similar, and some of the landed gentry were wealthier than some peers. Many gentry were close relatives of peers, and it was not uncommon for gentry to marry into peerage. It is the British element of the wider European class of gentry. With or without noble title, owning rural land estates often brought with it the legal rights of lord of the manor, and the less formal name or title of ''squire'', in Scotland laird. Generally lands passed by primogeniture, and the inheritances of daughters and younger sons were in cash or stocks, and relatively small. Typically the gentry farmed some of their land, as well as exploiting timber, minerals such as coal, and owning mills and other sources of income, but ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
High Wycombe
High Wycombe, often referred to as Wycombe ( ), is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England. Lying in the valley of the River Wye surrounded by the Chiltern Hills, it is west-northwest of Charing Cross in London, south-southeast of Aylesbury, southeast of Oxford, northeast of Reading and north of Maidenhead. According to the 2021 United Kingdom census, High Wycombe's built up area has a population of 127,856, making it the second largest town in the ceremonial county of Buckinghamshire after Milton Keynes. The High Wycombe Urban Area, the conurbation of which the town is the largest component, has a population of 140,684. High Wycombe is mostly an unparished area. Part of the urban area constitutes the civil parish of Chepping Wycombe, which had a population of 14,455 according to the 2001 census – this parish represents that part of the ancient parish of Chepping Wycombe which was outside the former municipal borough of Wycombe. There has been a market he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flag Semaphore
Flag semaphore (from the Ancient Greek () 'sign' and - (-) '-bearer') is a semaphore system conveying information at a distance by means of visual signals with hand-held flags, rods, disks, paddles, or occasionally bare or gloved hands. Information is encoded by the position of the flags; it is read when the flag is in a fixed position. Semaphores were adopted and widely used (with hand-held flags replacing the mechanical arms of shutter semaphores) in the maritime world in the 19th century. It is still used during underway replenishment at sea and is acceptable for emergency communication in daylight or using lighted wands instead of flags, at night. Contemporary semaphore flag system The current flag semaphore system uses two short poles with square flags, which a signal person holds in different positions to signal letters of the alphabet and numbers. The signaller holds one pole in each hand, and extends each arm in one of eight possible directions. Except for in the re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Camberley Obelisk
Camberley Obelisk (also known as Norris's Obelisk or Norris's Whim) is a brick tower at the top of a hill in Camberley, Surrey, England. The tower was built by John Norris (1721–1786) in about 1765–1770. The top section of the tower was destroyed by fire in the early 1880s. It is a Grade II listed building. Description Although known as an obelisk, the structure is in fact a square tower, made of red bricks on a stone base. It is built on the top of a wooded hill in Camberley Park, about east of Camberley town centre. The tower originally comprised several stories, and is estimated to have been about in height. However, the top part of the tower was demolished in the late 19th century, and it is now only high. The walls are up to thick. There was originally a wooden staircase inside the tower, allowing access to the top. The inside of the tower is now empty, and all the entrances have been closed off with iron grids. History The tower was built about 1765–1770 by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
St Lawrence's Church, West Wycombe
St Lawrence's Church is a Church of England church in the parish of West Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. It sits on top of West Wycombe Hill in a prominent position overlooking the West Wycombe Road, and surrounding villages. West Wycombe Hill is managed by the National Trust, although the church and graveyard are owned by the Church of England. The church resides in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. St Lawrence Church and the mausoleum both occupy similar positions on top of West Wycombe Hill, and the Church tower is visible for many miles around. The top of the tower is the highest point in the Southern Chilterns and on a clear day, it is possible to see West London. History The medieval church served the lost medieval village of Haveringdon, and of this building, the 14th-century chancel and tower remain, though heavily remodeled. The Grade I listed church was gradually rebuilt in its current form by Sir Francis Dashwood, 1st Baronet and Baron Le Despenser ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hellfire Club
Hellfire Club was a name for several exclusive clubs for high-society rakes established in Britain and Ireland in the 18th century. The name most commonly refers to Francis Dashwood's Order of the Friars of St. Francis of Wycombe. Such clubs, rumour had it, served as the meeting places of "persons of quality"Ashe p.48. who wished to take part in what were socially perceived as immoral acts, and the members were often involved in politics. Neither the activities nor membership of the clubs are easy to ascertain. The clubs allegedly had distant ties to an elite society known only as "The Order of the Second Circle".Blackett-Ord p. 46Ashe p. 111. The first official Hellfire Club was founded in London in 1718, by Philip, Duke of Wharton and a handful of other high-society friends.Blackett-Ord p. 44 The most notorious club associated with the name was established in England by Francis Dashwood, and met irregularly from around 1749 to around 1760, and possibly up until 1766.Ashe. In ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West Wycombe
West Wycombe is a small village famed for its manor houses and its hills. It is three miles west of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. The historic village is largely a National Trust property and receives a large annual influx of tourists – being the site of West Wycombe Park, West Wycombe Caves and the Mausoleum on top of West Wycombe Hill. The Mausoleum and Golden Ball above West Wycombe village are impressive local landmarks, visually dominating the village and local landscape for miles surrounding. West Wycombe Park, Caves, Mausoleum and St Lawrence's Church were all constructed in the mid-18th century by Sir Francis Dashwood, founder of the Dilettanti Society and co-founder of the notorious Hellfire Club. History Early history The hill above West Wycombe (now the site of St Lawrence's Church and the Mausoleum) has been continuously inhabited for centuries. A Bronze Age settlement is widely believed to have existed here, and research suggests there was a pa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Francis Dashwood, 11th Baron Le Despencer
Francis Dashwood, 11th Baron le Despencer, PC, FRS (December 1708 – 11 December 1781) was an English politician and rake, Chancellor of the Exchequer (1762–1763) and founder of the Hellfire Club. Life and career Early life Dashwood was born in Great Marlborough Street, London, in December 1708. He was the only son of Sir Francis Dashwood, 1st Baronet (died 1724), and his second wife Mary, eldest daughter of Vere Fane, 4th Earl of Westmorland. Dashwood was a Protestant in religion who would help edit the Anglican Book of Prayer. Francis and Mary had two children: a son Francis and a daughter Rachael. Sir Francis also had two surviving daughters from his first marriage, and two daughters and two sons from his third. So Francis Dashwood had a sister Rachael, and six half-siblings. Dashwood was educated at Eton College where he became associated with William Pitt the Elder. Upon the death of his father on 4 November 1724, Dashwood, who was only fifteen, inherited his fathe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rake (character)
In a historical context, a rake (short for rakehell, analogous to "hellraiser") was a man who was habituated to immoral conduct, particularly womanizing. Often, a rake was also prodigal, wasting his (usually inherited) fortune on gambling, wine, women, and song, and incurring lavish debts in the process. Cad is a closely related term. Comparable terms are " libertine" and "debauchee". The Restoration rake was a carefree, witty, sexually irresistible aristocrat whose heyday was during the English Restoration period (1660–1688) at the court of King Charles II. They were typified by the "Merry Gang" of courtiers, who included as prominent members the John Wilmot; George Villiers; and Charles Sackville, who combined riotous living with intellectual pursuits and patronage of the arts. At this time the rake featured as a stock character in Restoration comedy. After the reign of Charles II, and especially after the Glorious Revolution of 1688, the cultural perception of the r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Black Sheep
In the English language, black sheep is an idiom that describes a member of a group who is different from the rest, especially a family member who does not fit in. The term stems from sheep whose fleece is colored black rather than the more common white; these sheep stand out in the flock and their wool is worth less as it will not dye. The term has typically been given negative implications, implying waywardness. In psychology, "black sheep effect" refers to the tendency of group members to judge likeable ingroup members more positively and deviant ingroup members more negatively than comparable outgroup members. Origin In most sheep, a white fleece is not caused by albinism but by a common dominant gene that switches color production off, thus obscuring any other color that may be present. A black fleece is caused by a recessive gene, so if a white ram and a white ewe are each heterozygous for black, about one in four of their lambs will be black. In most white sheep breed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tenby
Tenby ( cy, Dinbych-y-pysgod, lit=fortlet of the fish) is both a walled seaside town in Pembrokeshire, Wales, on the western side of Carmarthen Bay, and a local government community. Notable features include of sandy beaches and the Pembrokeshire Coast Path, the 13th century medieval town walls, including the Five Arches barbican gatehouse, Tenby Museum and Art Gallery, the 15th century St. Mary's Church, and the National Trust's Tudor Merchant's House. Boats sail from Tenby's harbour to the offshore monastic Caldey Island. St Catherine's Island is tidal and has a 19th century Palmerston Fort. The town has an operating railway station. The A478 road from Cardigan, Ceredigion, connects Tenby with the M4 via the A477, the A40 and the A48 in approximately . History With its strategic position on the far west coast of Britain, and a natural sheltered harbour from both the Atlantic Ocean and the Irish Sea, Tenby was a natural settlement point, probably a hill f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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