Alice Hext (March 2, 1865^[1] - September 14, 1939)^[2], philanthropist, garden developer and magistrate. Events 986 - Louis V becomes King of the Franks. 1127 - Assassination of Charles the Good Year 1865 ( MDCCCLXV) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Events 81 - Domitian becomes Emperor of the Roman Empire upon the death of his brother Titus. Year 1939 ( MCMXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Philanthropy is the act of donating money goods services time and/or effort to support a socially beneficial cause with a defined objective and with no financial or material

She was the owner of the Trebah Estate and leisure garden, near Falmouth in Cornwall from 1907 to her death in 1939, ^[3]. Trebah is a 26 acre sub-tropical Garden situated in Cornwall near Glendurgan Garden and above the Helford River Falmouth (Aberfal is a town Civil parish and Port on the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall, England, UK. Cornwall ( Kernow ˈkɛɹnɔʊ is the most southwesterly county of England, on the Peninsula that lies to the west of the River Tamar

She generously supported the development of sports and social activities in the Parishes of Constantine and Mawnan ^[4]. This place should not be confused with Constantine Bay, Cornwall which is west of Padstow. Mawnan is a Civil parish in the Kerrier district of Cornwall, United Kingdom, comprising of several villages and hamlets including Mawnan

View of Trebah House from the "Mallard Pond", before the New Bridge was erected.

Alice's Seat at Trebah Garden

Trebah Garden

She developed^[5] the beautiful garden created by the Fox family of Falmouth, on the northern side of the Helford River at Trebahwortha, near Mawnan Smith. For the Fox Family TV Network, preceding ABC Family see Television networks preceding ABC Family The Helford River is not a river or an Estuary but a Ria located in Cornwall which passes the Trebah and Glendurgan gardens and the Mawnan is a Civil parish in the Kerrier district of Cornwall, United Kingdom, comprising of several villages and hamlets including Mawnan

“Mrs. Hext was a keen horticulturist and a frequent exhibitor at county and local garden shows and in her support of these she did much to help allotment holders and small gardeners. Her grounds were always open to the public and were often used for fetes and garden parties. ” ^[4]

After her death, the estate was split up and the garden passed between several owners and decayed. The "lost garden" at Trebah was rescued by the Hibbert family, who established a charitable trust to enable the garden to be open to the public again. A cob and thatch arbour in the garden was restored and given the name "Alice's Seat" ,^[6].

Birth & Marriage

Alice Petherick was born in St. Austell, on March 2, 1865, the daughter of George Petherick, a Bank Manager^[1][2] and his wife, Emily (born Barratt)^[7]. Events 986 - Louis V becomes King of the Franks. 1127 - Assassination of Charles the Good Year 1865 ( MDCCCLXV) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year

She married Charles Hawkins Hext, a banker, on April 16, 1891^[8] in Kensington. Events 1178 BC - A Solar eclipse may have marked the return of Odysseus, legendary King of Ithaca, to his kingdom Year 1891 ( MDCCCXCI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Kensington is a district of West London, England within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, located west of Charing Cross. Both her father and her husband, bore names "well-known among West Country gentry"^[9]. Landed gentry is a term traditionally applied in Britain to those people of a certain type and education who possess land in the form of country estates often (but

Charles and Alice Hext are shown in the 1901 census as resident at Polgwin in the civil parish of Bodmin, Cornwall. Bodmin (Bosvenegh is a Town in Cornwall, United Kingdom, with a population of 12778 (2001 census Charles is described as "Retired Banker" aged 49. Alice is shown as age 36. ^[10]. In 1907, they moved to Trebah.

Charles Hext served as Mayor of Bodmin in 1895^[11] and as High Sheriff of Cornwall, in 1915. A mayor (from the Latin māior, meaning "greater" is a modern title used in many countries for the highest ranking officer in a municipal government The High Sheriff is or was a law enforcement position in Anglosphere countries ^[12]. He died on January 3, 1917^[2]. Events 1431 - Joan of Arc is handed over to the Bishop Pierre Cauchon. Year 1917 ( MCMXVII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year

Philanthropy

She was a noted benefactor, to the County and in the Parishes of Constantine and Mawnan. In particular, she gave the playing field and sports pavilion to the village of Constantine in 1921 ^[13] (Trethowan, Page 131), in memory of her husband, Charles Hawkins Hext. There is a commemorative plaque at Constantine Social Club, recalling her generosity to the village.

Protective Covenant

GoonGillings farm

In 1928, she acquired Goongillings Farm^[14] and rebuilt the old quay as a decorative feature (Trethowan, Page 62)^[13]. She created a public right of way, from the village of Constantine to the river, through her land and covenanted^[15] its future use against inappropriate development.

Public Service

She served as Justice of the Peace from June 1921 ^[16]until 1939 ^[17]. A Justice of the Peace ( JP) is a Puisne Judicial officer appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace

Her obituary in the West Briton says: “A Justice of the Peace for the East Kerrier District, Mrs. Hext regularly attended the monthly meetings of the court at Penryn and she took a particular interest in the welfare of young people unfortunate enough to come before the magistrates.
One of her greatest interests was the Girls' Friendly Society ^[18]. She was president of the county the branch, and she was constantly active in furthering the good causes of that organisation in Cornwall and beyond it.
Some years ago, she presented a fine house, Miramar, at Grove-place, Falmouth, as a G. F. S. lodge for the Truro Diocese, enabling girls to be trained there for domestic service and affording hundreds of young women from other parts of the country and from abroad to enjoy holidays under the auspices of the movement at Falmouth.
A keen advocate of every possible facility for children in both elementary and secondary schools, Mrs. Hext was a valued education worker in the county and in the Falmouth area, being associated with both the Mawnan and Constantine elementary schools, a governor of Falmouth County High School for Girls, and a frequent benefactor to the Falmouth Grammar School. When village or secondary schools were in need of some improvements, Mrs. Hext not infrequently made herself responsible for them, and she often provided prizes as an inducement to scholars in some particularly commendable direction.
In the Constantine-Mawnan area she was interested in and almost invariably a helper in, anything for the betterment of village life. She gave to Constantine its present recreation ground and pavilion, and in both villages she supported sporting and social organisations, almost without exception. ” ^[4]

Death and legacy

Grave of Charles Hawkins Hext and Alice, his wife, at Constantine Church, near the south wall of the "new" burial ground.

She died on September 14, 1939. Events 81 - Domitian becomes Emperor of the Roman Empire upon the death of his brother Titus. Year 1939 ( MCMXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

She was buried in the churchyard of Saint Constantine's church^[19].

"Among the wreaths were tributes from the presidents, vice-presidents and members of the Truro Diocesan Council of the G. F. S. ; Constantine Parochial Church Council, Constantine Nursing Association, Constantine Recreation Committee, Constantine Garden Society, the teachers and pupils of Ponjeravah Day Schools, Constantine Branch of the G. F. S. ; the indoor staff; the outdoor staff; and “the garden she loved”. ^[4]

The Girls Friendly Society no longer functions in Falmouth but is a global organisation. The Constantine Sports and Social Club, that she endowed, still functions and the land she protected from development by covenant is still green. The garden that she and Charles Hext developed gives much pleasure to many people.

Notes and References

1. ^ ^{a b} Birth Register: Entry No. 401. Place of birth and residence of father: High Cross, St. Austell
2. ^ ^{a b c} Burke's Landed Gentry (1952) page 1220: Hext family
3. ^ Mawnan History Group (2002). Landed gentry is a term traditionally applied in Britain to those people of a certain type and education who possess land in the form of country estates often (but The Book of Mawnan: celebrating a South Cornwall parish. Tiverton, Devon: Halsgrove. ISBN 1-84114-148-8.  
4. ^ ^{a b c d} Obituary in The West Briton: 21 September 1939 Page 6, Column e. “LOSS TO CORNWALL/ DEATH AT TREBAH OF MRS. CHARLES HEXT/ DEVOTED PUBLIC WORKER”
5. ^ Tony Russell Trebah: guide to the garden of dreams, Spalding : Woodland and Garden, 2005. ISBN 0952195232

   "Two years later Edmund Backhouse died and in the following year, Trebah was sold to Charles Hawkins Hext and his wife Alice. Edmund Backhouse (1824 &ndash 7 June 1906) banker JP on the County Durham and for the North Riding of Yorkshire Their stewardship, which lasted until the outbreak of the Second World War, was truly a golden era in Trebah's history and the time when the garden reached its peak. . . Ponds in the middle of the garden were constructed and stocked with rainbow trout and golden orfe . . . Then in 1924, on a marshy area at the bottom of the valley, the subsoil was puddled to create what has subsequently been known as Mallard Pond. . . Most of these new innovations were carried out by Alice Hext, Charles having died in 1917. "

6. ^ Caroe & Partners, Architects - Case study: Trebah Gardens. Information on the creation of "Alice's Seat" is on page 2 http://www.caroe.co.uk/uploads/download/trebah.pdf.
7. ^ Burke's Landed Gentry (1952) page 2016: Petherick Family
8. ^ He was born December 22, 1851, the third son of Thomas Hext, JP. Events 1790 - The Turkish fortress of Izmail is stormed and captured by Suvorov and his Russian armies 1851 ( MDCCCLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common year of Trenannen (1805-1881) and Rhoda Charlton Yeatman, his wife ( -1914). The family were six brothers and five sisters. Source: Burke's Landed gentry, 1952.
9. ^ Henderson, Charles (1937). Charles Gordon Henderson ( July 11 1900 &ndash September 24 1933) was a Historian and Antiquarian of Cornwall A history of the parish of Constantine in Cornwall. Truro: Royal Institution of Cornwall, 208 – 209.  
10. ^ The 1901 census includes a coachman, a cook and two maids at Polgwin. All are shown as born in Cornwall (RG13/2201, pages 4 and 5).
11. ^ Ernest Gaskell (No date but between 1906 and 1912) Cornwall's leaders: Social and Political, London, EC: Queenhithe Printing & Publishing. Charles Hext was a JP on the Bodmin bench and "politically conservative and imperialist". His wife, Alice Hext, is described as the second daughter of George Petherick, of Porthpean Hill, St. Austell and of 2, Bramham Gardens, South Kensington. His hobbies were "sailing and gardening".
12. ^ Cornwall Record Office: Document ref. no. D/R/157 Photograph of Sheriff's Coach with driver, footmen and policeman at Bodmin assizes. Caption: Charles Hawkins Hext, sheriff Date: 1915.
13. ^ ^{a b} . Trethowan, Gerald (2001). The Book of Constantine. Tiverton, Devon: Halsgrove. ISBN 1-84114-102-X.  
14. ^ School places to visits website: Goongillings Farm.
15. ^ Covenanted under Clause 8 of the National Trust Act 1937 The covenant of December 14, 1938 reads

    "The Covenantor is the estate owner in respect of fee simple free from incumbrances of the land at Trebah situate in the Parish of Constantine and lands in the parishes of Veryan and Gorran all in the County of Cornwall particulars of which are set out in the First Schedule hereto which land is delineated on the two plans hereto annexed and is thereon shown by the colour pink such particulars being taken from the Ordnance Survey Map for the County of Cornwall 2nd Edition on the scale 208. Events 1287 - St Lucia's flood: The Zuider Zee sea wall in the Netherlands collapses killing over 50000 people Year 1938 ( MCMXXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Veryan is a village and Civil parish on the Roseland Peninsula in Cornwall, United Kingdom. 33 feet to 1 inch and is hereinafter referred to as “restricted land”. "

    .
16. ^ Cornwall Record Office: Quarter Sessions Record Book 1920-1923, page 285, entry for June 28, 1921. Alice Hext and three other women sworn in as Justices
17. ^ Kelly's Directory of Cornwall 1939.  
18. ^ Girls' Friendly Society website.
19. ^ Gazette and News September 20, 1939: "Well-known Cornish lady: death of Mrs C. Events 451 - The Battle of Chalons takes place in North Eastern France. Year 1939 ( MCMXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. H. Hext". The obituary describes the funeral and notes that the Bishop of Truro conducted the service, as well as several of her nephews, including Maurice Petherick, Conservative MP for Penryn & Falmouth (1931-1945). The Bishop of Truro is the head of the Diocese of Truro, one of the younger dioceses of the Church of England formed in 1876 Maurice Petherick ( October 5, 1894 - August 4, 1985) was Conservative MP for Penryn & Falmouth (1931-1945 Penryn and Falmouth was the name of a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1832 until 1950