John Lawrence Nettleship (1 August 1939 – 12 March 2011) was a British schoolteacher who taught

chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

Wyedean School Wyedean School and Sixth Form Centre is a secondary school with academy status in Sedbury, Gloucestershire, England, just across the border from Chepstow, Wales. Wyedean School was rated 'Good' by OfSTED in Jan 2018. The school is close to the ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

. His pupils there included Joanne Rowling, and he has been stated to be a major inspiration for the character of

Severus Snape Severus Snape is a fictional character in J. K. Rowling's ''Harry Potter'' series. He is an exceptionally skilled wizard whose sarcastic, controlled exterior conceals deep emotions and anguish. A Professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft ...

in Rowling's ''

Harry Potter ''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends ...

'' series of fantasy novels.

Life

Nettleship was born in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

, the son of Albert Victor Nettleship and Lilian (née Slack). He studied Chemistry at the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

in the late 1950s. He joined the Labour Party at that time, and remained an active member for the rest of his life. After leaving university, he taught in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

, where he married and had three children; the marriage later ended in divorce and he remarried in the 1980s. In 1970 he began teaching at Caldicot School in

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, with ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, moving to become Head of Science at Wyedean School in

Sedbury Sedbury is a village in the Forest of Dean district of west Gloucestershire, England. It is located on the eastern bank of the River Wye, facing the town of Chepstow in Monmouthshire . The village is in the parish of Tidenham. It had a populatio ...

, Gloucestershire, a few miles away, in 1974. As the ''Harry Potter'' series gained international recognition, Nettleship was often recognized as a personal character inspiration for

. He described himself in hindsight as "a short-tempered chemistry teacher with long hair... nd agloomy, malodorous laboratory."John Nettleship, ''Harry Potter's Chepstow'', 2009 He was first questioned about his links to Rowling's character of Snape by journalists, saying: "I was horrified when I first found out. I knew I was a strict teacher but I didn't think I was that bad." After being initially unhappy about the comparison, Nettleship came to terms with the connection, and wrote a short book, ''Harry Potter's Chepstow'', about Rowling's connections with

Chepstow Chepstow ( cy, Cas-gwent) is a town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales, adjoining the border with Gloucestershire, England. It is located on the tidal River Wye, about above its confluence with the River Severn, and adjoining the western ...

. He also gave talks on the connections that the Chepstow,

Wye Valley The Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; cy, Dyffryn Gwy) is an internationally important protected landscape straddling the border between England and Wales. The River Wye ( cy, Afon Gwy) is the fourth-longest river in th ...

and

Forest of Dean The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the county of Gloucestershire, England. It forms a roughly triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and northwest, Herefordshire to the n ...

areas had with the ''Harry Potter'' books. Nettleship retired in 1997. As well as being an active member of the Labour Party, he was a member of

Caerwent Caerwent ( cy, Caer-went) is a village and community in Monmouthshire, Wales. It is located about five miles west of Chepstow and 11 miles east of Newport. It was founded by the Romans as the market town of ''Venta Silurum'', an important settle ...

community council A community council is a public representative body in Great Britain. In England they may be statutory parish councils by another name, under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, or they may be non-statutory bodies. In ...

, serving as its chairman in 1991. He was instrumental in setting up Caerwent Historic Trust, becoming its secretary and researching the history of the area. He died of cancer in 2011, aged 71, after having been diagnosed in 2006. A spokeswoman for J. K. Rowling said that the author was sorry to hear of his death. He was played by

Andrew Kavadas Andrew Kavadas is a Canadian actor who works in Vancouver, British Columbia. Career Kavadas has played several roles in anime, most notably Patrick Zala in ''Mobile Suit Gundam SEED''. He also played Kate Beckinsale's character's father in '' Un ...

in the J.K. Rowling

biopic A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of a non-fictional or historically-based person or people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudra ...

Magic Beyond Words ''Magic Beyond Words: The J.K. Rowling Story'' is a made-for-TV film starring actress Poppy Montgomery. It is based on the book ''J.K. Rowling A Biography'', by Sean Smith, detailing the journey of struggling single mother J. K. Rowling, her bi ...

''.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nettleship, John 1939 births 2011 deaths Alumni of the University of Leeds Schoolteachers from Nottinghamshire People from Nottingham