Latest news with #WinchesterCollege
BBC News
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Jane Austen home in Winchester opens to public for first time
The house where Jane Austen lived for the final weeks of her life has been opened to the public for the first novelist lived in a home on College Street, Winchester, until her death on the 18 July 1817. Winchester College has opened the house to the public as part of the global celebrations to mark 250 years since Austen was can visit the building on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 4 June until 30 August and displays and artefacts will show how she spent her last days in the city. Dr Richard Foster, the keeper of collections at Winchester College, described it as "very exciting"."Jane Austen is an author who means so much to lots of people and so i think people will be very excited to be in this space where she lived and where she died," he Foster said Austen is believed to have moved to the house for the last eight weeks of her life, when she travelled to Winchester to see a and her sister Cassandra rented rooms in the building, he said. He believes the house has not changed a great deal since her death in the 19th Century and the rooms remain in a similar style to how Austen would have known them."It's a rare chance to see and experience one of the places where she lived and where she wrote her last letters and her last poem," he said. You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
From head boy to prime minister: What are Rishi Sunak's educational qualifications?
Rishi Sunak has been a prominent figure in British politics, who served as the UK's Prime Minister from October 2022 until July 2024. His rise to such a high office is often linked not just to his political skills, but also to his strong educational background. Yesterday, during the final of IPL 2025, the former UK PM was spotted witnessing the match with his wife. When Krunal Pandya took the key wicket of opener Prabhsimran Singh in the ninth over, Sunak, who was sitting next to ICC chairman Jay Shah, couldn't hold back his excitement. In the middle of a deep conversation, he burst into a lively celebration, pumping his fists as Royal Challengers Bangalore secured their second wicket while defending a score of 191 in Ahmedabad. Education shapes leaders in many ways, by providing them with knowledge, critical thinking skills, and experiences that help to shape their decisions and leadership ways. Here are Rishi Sunak's educational qualifications from his early schooling days to prestigious universities. Early schooling at Winchester College Rishi Sunak's education began at Winchester College, which is one of the most exclusive private schools in England, and is well known for its high academic standards and rich history. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Villa For Sale in Dubai Might Surprise You Villas in Dubai | Search ads Learn More Undo Winchester has produced several notable alumni, including six chancellors of the Exchequer. Sunak's time there was marked by leadership and involvement, as he was both 'head boy' and the editor of the school newspaper. These roles helped him develop early leadership skills and a sense of responsibility. According to Britannica, Sunak also worked during summer vacations, waiting tables at an Indian restaurant in Southampton, which helped him connect with his roots and understand the value of hard work. Studying philosophy, politics, and economics at Oxford After Winchester, Sunak went on to study at Lincoln College, Oxford University, where he pursued a degree in philosophy, politics, and economics (PPE). This multidisciplinary program is famous for shaping many future British politicians, giving them a solid grounding in critical thinking, governance, and economic principles. While at Oxford, Sunak was also president of the Oxford Trading & Investment Society, which gave him hands-on experience with financial markets and global trading. Additionally, during his university years, Sunak interned at the Conservative Party headquarters, an early step in his political career. According to sources, this period was crucial in blending his academic knowledge with real-world political exposure. MBA from Stanford University Sunak further advanced his education by earning an MBA from Stanford University as a Fulbright scholar. This prestigious scholarship is awarded to individuals showing exceptional promise. At Stanford, he deepened his understanding of business and finance, which later proved invaluable during his work in hedge funds and his role as Chancellor of the Exchequer. During his time there, Sunak met his future wife, Akshata Murthy, who is the daughter of Philanthropist Sudha Murty and Infosys co-founder Narayan Murty. Impact of education on Sunak's career Rishi Sunak's educational qualifications laid a strong foundation for his financial and political careers. His experiences helped him build expertise in economics, leadership, and business strategy. As quoted in various reports, Sunak himself has drawn parallels between lessons learned in his family business and the values of Conservative Party icon Margaret Thatcher, highlighting how education and upbringing combined to shape his outlook.
Daily Mirror
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
I visited pitiful never-before-seen room where Jane Austen took her last breath
The normally private residence where the Pride & Prejudice author lived for her final three months before she died has been opened to the public for the first time as part Winchester's 250th celebrations of their most famous resident, t The modest lodging room where one the world's greatest novelists, Jane Austen, breathed her last breath has been opened to the public for the first time in Winchester, Hampshire. Normally crowds of Jane Austen fans from all over the world gather outside the cream-coloured walls of this hallowed Georgian building at No 8 College Street to pay homage to their favourite author, whose six witty novels such as Sense & Sensibility captured a slice of 18th century English life and spawned a global romantic industry in Hollywood films, BBC period dramas and spin-off TV series. Normally the closest fans have been able to get over the years has been to take photos of the memorial plaque to Jane that hangs above the door at No 8, but have never been allowed to step foot inside. Now the hand-written note stuck to the wall outside reminding tourists that it is a private residence has been torn down, and the simple lodgings rooms where Jane spent three months before her untimely death, aged 41, has been opened for just 28 days to the public to mark the 250th anniversary of the author's birth. On 18 July 1817, Jane had a seizure after a long unknown illness and died with her head in her beloved sister Cassandra's lap upstairs in the lodging house, just five minutes walk from the Winchester Cathedral where she is buried. Born the seventh child of eight in 1775 in Steventon, Hampshire, where her father was rector, Jane famously never wed after her first love Irish lawyer Tom Lefroy (played by James McAvoy in the 2007 film Becoming Jane with Anne Hathaway) departed for Dublin and wed a wealthy woman. The author, who just before her death had begun to enjoy a minor celebrity despite publishing her books anonymously, only earned around £650 in her lifetime (the equivalent of £40,000 today) from her work, and was used to living relatively modestly compared to her wealthy brothers. Jane and her sister and mother lived in Chawton Cottage, 10 miles from Winchester, which was one of many properties owned by her rich brother Edward, who had an annual income of £15,000 – even grander than Mr Darcy's £10,000 a year in Jane's most famous work, Pride & Prejudice. Guiding the first tour of its kind in the house, Adam Rattray, head of history of art at Winchester College, which owns the property, explains how historians and architects have been able to peel back the layers of history in the house to recreate what it would have looked like in Jane's time. 'Jane had been unwell for many months and when she arrived in Winchester on May 24, she was suffering from an unknown disease – possibly Addison's or Lupus. She had a blotchy face and she had not left her house in a long time and came to the city for medical treatment from Giles King Lyford, surgeon-general at county hospital. 'In her last letters to her nephew, Jane wrote about her 'comfortable lodgings, including the neat little drawing room with a bow window overlooking Dr Gabell's garden,' who was the master of the college. And how she mainly spent her days on a sofa, which we have replicated with a piece of furniture from the period covered with ticking. 'The house virtually remained untouched for years so much of the cornicing is original, and we have matched the same coloured green paint we found on the walls downstairs, and the grey, terracotta and cream of Jane's lodgings.' Sadly Jane never recovered and a day before she died, when asked by her sister what she needed, she replied, 'Only death itself.' Her last tragic words were, 'God grant me patience, Pray for me, Oh pray for me.' Jane was buried with just four male members of her family in attendance, as women did not attend funerals at the time. And her heartbroken sister Cassandra could only watch from the window upstairs in the lodging house as the funeral cortege carrying Jane passed on the way to her final resting place. Cassandra, who was played by Keeley Hawes in the recent BBC period drama Miss Austen, wrote later, 'I watched the little mournful procession the length of the street and when it turned from my sight… I had lost her forever,' before leaving the house never to return. The opening of the house where Jane died is part of a summer-long celebration of the Hampshire city's most famous resident, including a display in the City Museum of Jane's belongings such as her beautiful silk pelisse – or coat – which shows Jane stood about 5ft 7-tall and was a size six in modern UK sizing. Louise West, former curator of Jane's house, explains how when Jane began earning her own money, she loved to spend it. 'We have many everyday objects here that belonged to Jane such as purses which normally would have been thrown out, but by the end of her life, Jane's sister and mother were being asked for Jane's autographs, so she was beginning to become famous. 'Even though Jane made many of her clothes, she paid for the silk pelisse to be made for her at great expense, and if you look closely, you'll see it's covered in tiny oak leaves – a Naval symbol – in tribute to her two seafaring brothers. 'Jane's house at Chawton would have been very cold, and she would have worn the pelisse a bit like a housecoat to keep herself warm.' Visitors to the city can also experience the Jane Austen exhibition at Winchester Cathedral where she was buried, and where letters and poems between Jane and her good friend Anne Lefroy are on display. Jane met Anne Lefroy's nephew Tom as a lively 20-year-old when she attended many balls at the Assembly Rooms in Basingstoke. In early January 1796, Jane wrote excitedly to her older sister Cassandra about her crush, calling him "a very gentlemanlike, good-looking, pleasant young man'. But alas, Jane was unlikely to offer bring much in the way of a dowry, and in another of her letters later that year, she mentioned his departure and wrote, 'At length the day is come when I am to flirt my last with Tom Lefroy, and when you receive this it will be over. My tears flow as I write at the melancholy idea.' Indeed Tom left the country and married a wealthy woman Mary Paul in 1799, and they had seven children and lived in the family estate at Carrigglass Manor in County Longford in Ireland. Tom and Jane never saw each other again, but the Austen and Lefroy families kept in touch over the years, and descendants of Tom have been very involved with the celebrations of the famous author. Tim Lefroy, 77, who is Tom's brother's great grandson, also lives in Winchester, and attended the opening. He spoke about why his young Anglo Irish ancestor would never have married Jane. 'Tom was an impecunious lawyer and couldn't afford to marry Jane – he had yet to start his career.' As the years passed and Jane grew older, she remained unmarried. That's not to say she wasn't courted by other suitors – aged 27 she received a proposal from a local farmer Harris Bing-Wither who was due to inherit a large fortune, but after accepting him, the following day she turned him down. Curator Louise West adds, 'He was a very nice family friend, but rather dull. Considering what we know Jane thought of romance, it's hardly surprising she declined his offer.' Jane was a prolific letter writer and wrote thousands of them in her lifetime, but her sister burned all but 160 of them. Probably because Jane's sharp tongue would have embarrassed many with her witty yet indiscreet revelations about neighbours and family. However perhaps we should all be thankful Jane never married and had children – not least because three of her Jane's six sisters in law died in childbirth – but also, if she had, it's unlikely Jane would have had the time or support to write what are thought to be six of the greatest novels in the English language. And now her tomb inside the spectacular Norman Winchester Cathedral, which is engraved with an epitaph written by her brother Henry, is a shrine to fans who come from all over the world to lay flowers and pay their respects to one of the literary world's most famous women.
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
'It's a magnificent way to reconnect with my old school' - boss in job news
A WELL-KNOWN local manufacturer returned to his old school to secure one of the most prestigious contracts in the company's 37-year history. The chairman of the York Handmade Brick Company, David Armitage, whose firm is based at Alne, near Easingwold, in North Yorkshire, is providing 350,000 high-quality bricks for two new boarding houses for girls at Winchester College in Hampshire. Recommended reading: David said: 'When I was a teenage schoolboy at Winchester College in 1955, I had little idea that I would ever become a brickmaker, despite the fact that my family had all been in the trade for four generations. In time, I became the fifth. 'I am sure no-one had any idea then that the all-boys Winchester College would one day admit girls. However, the scene moves on 70 years and two new boarding houses for sixth-form girls are opening in September next year. And, to my pride and delight, we are providing the bricks for this historic development. 'It is obviously a great honour for me personally to be supplying bricks to the college and even more so because I made the original contact with architects Stanton Williams to secure the contract. The college wanted a very special brick for a very special building and we were very pleased to be able to fit that bill and help to create this splendid structure. 'This has been a magnificent way to reconnect with my old school. It has brought back many happy memories of a formative part of my life.' David Armitage The value of this contract is £540,000. The main contractors are Gilbert Ash. The project began several years ago when Winchester College decided to welcome girls into the Sixth Form as boarders. The college hopes that the two new boarding houses, and the introduction of girls will increase its involvement with, and contribution to, the city of Winchester. Luke O'Bray, associate with London-based architects Stanton Williams, said: 'Drawing on the character and materiality of the existing stock of boarding houses at Winchester College, brick is used as the primary external material finish for the new buildings. 'Our project at Winchester College called for a brick that could provide warmth, depth, variation and a sense of permanence that complemented the neighbouring buildings. York Handmade's bricks provide a handmade quality, rich textural quality and tonal variation, which help us to achieve our ambition of creating high-quality architecture, rooted in place. 'Being the most dominant façade material, the bricks play a crucial role in grounding the new boarding houses within their historic setting. Brick is a material inherently associated with longevity, and its use in this project reinforces the idea of building that is designed to endure. The robust masonry construction ensures a timeless quality, aligning with Stanton Williams' ethos of creating architecture that is both contemporary and enduring. 'The York Handmade bricks play a crucial role in mediating between the timber, metal, and precast stone façade elements, establishing a cohesive material dialogue that enhances the architectural language. The handmade quality of the bricks serves as a unifying element, allowing the more precise and engineered materials to be framed within a richly textured and contextually sensitive backdrop. 'We're very pleased with the bricks provided to date. Beyond their visual impact, the bricks contribute to the sensory experience of the spaces. Their rough, textural quality invites touch, reinforcing a sense of material honesty and durability. This tactility plays a crucial role in spaces designed for students, making the boarding houses feel grounded, welcoming, and enduring. The brick's robustness and durability ensure that the buildings will age gracefully, further embedding them within the historic fabric of Winchester College.' Meanwhile Raymond Gilroy, Construction Director at Gilbert Ash said: 'We pride ourselves on close collaboration with our clients and delivering outstanding quality. "We look forward to providing Winchester College with world class buildings future generations of pupils can be proud of.' The York Handmade Brick Company has a tremendous track record when it comes to the education sector, having provided high-quality handmade bricks for many establishments, including Chethams' School of Music, Highgate School, Pocklington School, Magdalene College Library, Cambridge and Christchurch College, Oxford. Winchester College old boys include former prime minister Rishi Sunak, senior Tory politician Willie Whitelaw, art historian Kenneth Clark, poet Matthew Arnold and cricketer Douglas Jardine.
New York Times
04-02-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Richard Williamson, Renegade Priest and Holocaust Denier, Dies at 84
The Rev. Richard Williamson, a priest affiliated with a breakaway Catholic sect who caused a scandal in the church over his antisemitic statements and Holocaust denial, and who was excommunicated twice by the Vatican, died on Wednesday in Margate, England. He was 84. His death, after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage, was confirmed by the schismatic Catholic sect of which he had been a longtime member, the Society of St. Pius X, in a news release issued by its headquarters in Switzerland. The society was founded in 1970 by the renegade traditionalist French archbishop, Marcel Lefebvre, who rejected the liberalizing dictates of the Second Vatican Council of the mid-1960s, which among other things repudiated doctrinal antisemitism in the church. Father Williamson was ordained a bishop by the society, but the Vatican never recognized him as such and excommunicated him and others in the sect in 1988. Pope Benedict XVI reinstated Father Williamson in January 2009, trying to mend what he and others in the Catholic hierarchy regarded as a dangerous internal rift. But they were quickly confronted with an interview the British priest had given on Swedish television two months before, which was circulating widely on the internet. 'I think that two to three hundred thousand Jews perished in Nazi concentration camps. But nothing like, but none of them, by a gas chamber,' said Father Williamson, impeccably arrayed in his priestly vestments, and in the precise tones reflecting his education at Winchester College in England and Cambridge University. Historians estimate that of the approximately 6 million Jews killed by the Nazis, about 2.7 million were killed in death camps, the vast majority in gas chambers. Well before that interview Father Williamson was known for his bizarre views on 9/11 — an inside job, he claimed — and for his antisemitism, making the pope's professed ignorance of them all the more mystifying. In March 2008, for instance, a front-page article in the weekly British newspaper The Catholic Herald, under the headline 'Lefebvrists face crisis as bishop is exposed as 'dangerous' antisemite,' detailed Father Williamson's enthusiasm for the antisemitic Czarist forgery, 'Protocols of the Elders of Zion,' which postulates a Jewish conspiracy for world domination. The priest insisted to the Herald journalist that he was not an antisemite, but that he didn't like 'adversaries of Our Lord Jesus Christ,' adding, 'If Jews are adversaries of Our Lord Jesus Christ, obviously not all of them, but those that are, then I don't like them.' In February 2009, confronted with outrage from German politicians, Jewish groups and Israel, the Vatican told Father Williamson he would have to take back his remarks. 'To all souls that took honest scandal from what I said, before God I apologize,' he responded, without retracting anything he had said. But the Society of St. Pius X had had enough of his damaging scandals, and eventually so had the Vatican. That month he was removed as head of the society's seminary outside Buenos Aires, and expelled from Argentina for making statements that 'profoundly offend the Argentine society, the Jewish people and all of humanity.' German prosecutors convicted him of Holocaust denial, a crime in Germany, and fined him. In October 2012 he was expelled from the society in an apparent effort to mend ties with the Vatican, but he continued to preach his brand of antisemitism — a September 2020 talk in Ireland featured his view that Covid was 'possibly the creation of the Jews.' He also believed that women should not wear trousers, and that the movie 'The Sound of Music' was 'slush.' In 2015, he was excommunicated by the Vatican for a second time after he consecrated several bishops without authorization. Richard Nelson Williamson was born on March 8, 1940, in the London neighborhood of Hampstead, one of three sons of John Blackburn Williamson, a manager at Marks & Spencer, the British department store chain, and Helen (Nelson) Williamson, an American who had grown up in Paris. He was raised as a Presbyterian, moved toward Anglicanism in his high school years, and only converted to Catholicism in his early 30s. Richard attended Downsend School and later Winchester, an elite British boarding school. 'The family embodied everything solid and decent in middle class life in the mid-20th century, a father working diligently to support his wife and children,' Mr. Williamson's admiring biographer, David Allen White, a longtime English professor at the U.S. Naval Academy, wrote in his book, 'The Voice of the Trumpet.' He received a degree in English literature at Cambridge University in 1961, worked briefly as a journalist in Wales, and later taught in Ghana. He returned to England in 1965 for a teaching job at St. Paul's School in London, and began to embrace Catholicism. Archbishop Lefebvre ordained him as a priest in 1976, and for 20 years, from 1983 to 2003, he was rector of the Society of Saint Pius X's seminary in the United States, first in Ridgefield, Conn., and later in Winona, Minn. Information about survivors was not immediately available. His last years were marked by virulent antisemitic rants in speeches in England and on Iranian television, and a sermon in Poland in 2022 in which he called Vladimir Putin 'a man of great intelligence and courage.'
