On 9th April, 210 years ago today, Ellen answered a letter that she had just received from Dawson Turner, written on 25th March. His letter to Ellen has survived and you can read it HERE. Ellen’s letter written on 9th April 1811 is HERE. This is letter three of a set of five letters. The…
Read more
Just two weeks since her last letter of 8th March, Ellen again wrote to Dawson Turner, botanist and banker of Yarmouth, Norfolk, England. Ellen had recently turned 26 years old, her birthday was on 17th March (St Patrick’s Day). She had received a letter from Dawson Turner (the letter has not survived) in which he…
Read more
Dawson Turner, in Yarmouth, England, was preparing a book on seaweeds. He received some of Ellen’s specimens from James Mackay, assistant curator at the Botanic Gardens in Dublin. Turner was delighted and in April 1807 he sent a parcel of plants to Ellen as a thank you. This was the beginning of a seven year…
Read more
This delightful book, The Wild Plants of Bere, Dursey, Whiddy and other Islands in Bantry Bay, published by Sherkin Island Marine Station in 2013, puts on record the variety of wild plants found in this part of Ireland famed for its dramatic scenery, mild climate and sub-tropical gardens. The book examines the history, geography,…
Read more
Ellen Hutchins of Ballylickey was botanizing in the Bantry Bay area of West Cork, Ireland, long before collecting seaweeds became a fashionable hobby for Victorian ladies. Water Colour of Bantry Bay by Louisa Shore Nightingale (nee. Hutchins) Between 1805 and 1812 Ellen was discovering new seaweeds, mosses and lichens, and sending her specimens and drawings to…
Read more
