Margaret Steuart Pollard | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1904-03-01)March 1, 1904 |
| Died | November 13, 1996(1996-11-13) (aged 92) Truro, Cornwall, England |
| Occupation |
|
| Language | Cornish, English |
| Alma mater | Newnham College, Cambridge |
| Notable works | Bewnans Alysaryn, Cornwall |
| Notable awards | Benemerenti Medal |
| Spouse | Frank Pollard |
| Relatives | William Ewart Gladstone (great great-uncle) |
Margaret Steuart Pollard (née Gladstone; 1 March 1904 – 13 November 1996) was a poet andbard of theCornish language. She was the founding member ofFerguson's Gang, a secret society of supporters of theNational Trust, who had their headquarters atShalford Mill.[1]
From 1920, she attendedNewnham College, Cambridge,[2] where she was the first woman to gain first-class honours in Oriental Languages. She married Captain Frank Pollard, an expert on Cornish history, and they lived inTruro, Cornwall. By 1938, she had become a bard, and a member of theCornish Gorsedd. She publishedBewnans Alysaryn, a Cornish-languagemiracle play, in 1941.[3] She was an enthusiastic supporter of campaigns to defend the landscape, language and traditions of Cornwall and rural England. On one occasion she donated £100 to the National Trust as part ofFerguson's Gang, wearing a full mask to preserve her anonymity.[4]
In 1947, a book about her home county, entitledCornwall, that she had written was published byPaul Elek.[5] She has been described as "humorous, perceptive, and intelligent".[3] In 1951 she converted toRoman Catholicism, and in 1973 built a Roman Catholic church dedicated to Our Lady of the Portal and St Piran on the site of a medieval chapel in Truro. For this she received theBenemerenti Medal from the Pope.[4]
She remained an active poet and translator throughout her long life. She had given away much of her inherited wealth after her husband's death in 1968 and lived in aone-up-one-down, which was an old tin miner's cottage on Richmond Hill,Truro.[6] She remained a romantic figure, dressed as she was in a long skirt and a scarf wrapped around her head. She died at the age of 93 on 13 November 1996 at Truro.[3]
She was the great great-niece of former prime ministerWilliam Ewart Gladstone.[4]
