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Eleanor Glanville
Eleanor Glanville (born Goodricke; first married name Ashfield; 1654–1709) was an English entomologist and naturalist, specialising in the study of butterflies and moths. She inherited family properties across Somersetshire and married twice (once widowed). She had seven children, four of whom survived to adulthood.
After separating from her second husband in the late 1690s, Glanville returned to an early passion for butterfly collecting and established herself among the ranks of early insect enthusiasts, corresponding with other entomologists such as James Petiver and John Ray. Glanville sent multiple first-known butterfly specimens to Petiver, contributing to his British insect catalogue Gazophylacium naturae et artis, and her experiments in raising butterflies resulted in some of the earliest detailed descriptions of butterfly rearing. She is known for discovering the Glanville fritillary, the only native British butterfly named after a British naturalist. Three of Glanville's insect specimens still exist today in the Natural History Museum's Sloane collection.
Towards the end of Glanville's life, her estranged husband made attempts to obtain her wealth through intimidation and the circulation of rumours, and she countered this by leaving her properties in trust and willing small legacies to her children. Her eldest son contested the will after her death, however, and argued that his mother's entomological pursuits and seemingly eccentric behaviour were enough to declare her will invalid on grounds of insanity. The will was overturned in 1712.
Eleanor Goodricke was born in 1654 to Major William Goodricke and Eleanor Poynz (née Davis). Their second child, a younger daughter, was named Mary. William had fought in Scotland in support of Oliver Cromwell's army in 1650–1651, and was later granted a royal pardon for his actions in the Restoration of 1660. Eleanor Poynz had inherited several properties from her parents, including manors at Tickenham and Backwell Park and other properties in Somersetshire, and William was her second husband. The Goodricke family lived at Tickenham Court.
Upon her father's death in 1666 (her mother had died nine years prior), Eleanor Goodricke inherited her mother's family estates. She continued residing at Tickenham Court. In 1676, she married a Lincolnshire artist named Edmund Ashfield, and they had a son named Forest Edmund, followed by two twin daughters (only one of whom, Mary, survived birth). Ashfield died in 1679.
In 1685, Eleanor married Richard Glanville, who owned properties in Elmsett, Somersham and Offton. They had four more children, two of whom died while still in infancy. A son and daughter survived. Richard turned out to be violent, once threatening Eleanor with a loaded pistol, and by 1698 the couple had separated.
Eleanor Glanville had been interested in butterfly collecting as a youth, but she began developing a more serious pursuit of this after her marriage with Richard broke down. She recruited her servants' help in collecting insects, paying well for specimens as long as they were carefully preserved according to instruction and delivered in excellent condition. She corresponded with other early insect collectors such as John Ray, Adam Buddle, Joseph Dandridge and William Vernon, and became close friends with entomologist James Petiver. On meeting Glanville in London in 1703, Vernon was impressed by her collection and praised it as "the noblest collection of butterflies, all English, which has sham'd us."
Over the years, Glanville sent Petiver boxes of carefully-pinned specimens, collecting lesser-known insects from across England and Wales for Petiver to catalogue and share with the entomological community. One of her boxes included the earliest known specimen of the green hairstreak butterfly. Her work helped Petiver complete his British insect catalogue Gazophylacium naturae et artis, and he credited her in the text. One of the first local lists of British insects, compiled on the insects of Bristol, is attributed to Glanville.
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Eleanor Glanville
Eleanor Glanville (born Goodricke; first married name Ashfield; 1654–1709) was an English entomologist and naturalist, specialising in the study of butterflies and moths. She inherited family properties across Somersetshire and married twice (once widowed). She had seven children, four of whom survived to adulthood.
After separating from her second husband in the late 1690s, Glanville returned to an early passion for butterfly collecting and established herself among the ranks of early insect enthusiasts, corresponding with other entomologists such as James Petiver and John Ray. Glanville sent multiple first-known butterfly specimens to Petiver, contributing to his British insect catalogue Gazophylacium naturae et artis, and her experiments in raising butterflies resulted in some of the earliest detailed descriptions of butterfly rearing. She is known for discovering the Glanville fritillary, the only native British butterfly named after a British naturalist. Three of Glanville's insect specimens still exist today in the Natural History Museum's Sloane collection.
Towards the end of Glanville's life, her estranged husband made attempts to obtain her wealth through intimidation and the circulation of rumours, and she countered this by leaving her properties in trust and willing small legacies to her children. Her eldest son contested the will after her death, however, and argued that his mother's entomological pursuits and seemingly eccentric behaviour were enough to declare her will invalid on grounds of insanity. The will was overturned in 1712.
Eleanor Goodricke was born in 1654 to Major William Goodricke and Eleanor Poynz (née Davis). Their second child, a younger daughter, was named Mary. William had fought in Scotland in support of Oliver Cromwell's army in 1650–1651, and was later granted a royal pardon for his actions in the Restoration of 1660. Eleanor Poynz had inherited several properties from her parents, including manors at Tickenham and Backwell Park and other properties in Somersetshire, and William was her second husband. The Goodricke family lived at Tickenham Court.
Upon her father's death in 1666 (her mother had died nine years prior), Eleanor Goodricke inherited her mother's family estates. She continued residing at Tickenham Court. In 1676, she married a Lincolnshire artist named Edmund Ashfield, and they had a son named Forest Edmund, followed by two twin daughters (only one of whom, Mary, survived birth). Ashfield died in 1679.
In 1685, Eleanor married Richard Glanville, who owned properties in Elmsett, Somersham and Offton. They had four more children, two of whom died while still in infancy. A son and daughter survived. Richard turned out to be violent, once threatening Eleanor with a loaded pistol, and by 1698 the couple had separated.
Eleanor Glanville had been interested in butterfly collecting as a youth, but she began developing a more serious pursuit of this after her marriage with Richard broke down. She recruited her servants' help in collecting insects, paying well for specimens as long as they were carefully preserved according to instruction and delivered in excellent condition. She corresponded with other early insect collectors such as John Ray, Adam Buddle, Joseph Dandridge and William Vernon, and became close friends with entomologist James Petiver. On meeting Glanville in London in 1703, Vernon was impressed by her collection and praised it as "the noblest collection of butterflies, all English, which has sham'd us."
Over the years, Glanville sent Petiver boxes of carefully-pinned specimens, collecting lesser-known insects from across England and Wales for Petiver to catalogue and share with the entomological community. One of her boxes included the earliest known specimen of the green hairstreak butterfly. Her work helped Petiver complete his British insect catalogue Gazophylacium naturae et artis, and he credited her in the text. One of the first local lists of British insects, compiled on the insects of Bristol, is attributed to Glanville.