Agnes Fry Explained

Agnes Fry
Birth Date:25 March 1869
Birth Place:Highgate
Occupation:Writer, bryologist
Father:Sir Edward Fry
Relatives:Joan Mary Fry, Roger Eliot Fry, Isabel Fry, Margery Fry, Ruth Fry

Agnes Fry (25 March 1869 - 15 August 1958) was a British bryologist, astronomer, botanical illustrator, writer and poet, who donated Failand House's Estate to the National Trust.

Family

Fry was born on 25 March 1869,[1] in Highgate.[2] Her father was Sir Edward Fry, the jurist, and the family were prominent Quakers connected to Fry's Chocolate. One of nine children,[3] Fry had two brothers and six sisters:

In his diaries Ernest Satow recorded that of Edward Fry's daughters, Agnes was "the deaf but interesting and learned one".[4]

Research

Botany

Edward Fry encouraged the education of his daughters, in particular he encouraged an interest in natural sciences. Fry collaborated with her father on several scientific works, including the botanical illustrations for British Mosses.[5] They co-authored The Mycetozoa, published in 1899,[6] which ran to a second edition in 1915.[7] In his introduction to The Liverworts he praised her "zealous cooperation" in their research.[8] She collected a large number of specimens, in particular from the family's estate at Failand. Specimens she collected there included: Physarum viride, Fuligo septica, Chondrioderma spumarioides, Lamproderma irideum and Dictydium umbilicatum. She was an early member of the British Mycological Society. She was also a member of the Bristol Naturalists' Society.

Astronomy

Agnes Fry was an amateur astronomer, joining the British Astronomical Association on 29 November 1905. She was elected a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society on 14 February 1919 on the recommendation of W F Denning.[9]

Textiles

Fry was also a collector of embroidery, particularly that produced by 'peasant' communities from around the world. In 1949 she donated her collection of 260 pieces to Bristol Museum. Her friends and relatives donated pieces to the collection, and she also commissioned pieces from local craftspeople through her network of acquaintances.[10] When she donated the collection the also gave £50 to fund its display, which she stipulated should have "good illumination as needlework requires narrow inspection".

Correspondence with the Eugenics Society

Fry was a member of the Eugenics Society and corresponded with them, in particular around the question of how to prevent people with disabilities from marrying.[11]

Later life

From the 1930s, Fry lived at Home Farm on the Failand Estate.[12] She planted two oak trees there: the first to commemorate the silver jubilee of George V and Queen Mary (in 1935); the second to mark the coronation of George VI (in 1937). In 1958 the 393 acre Failand House Estate was donated to the National Trust.[13] The house had been the Fry family's summer home.[14] [15] Fry died on 15 August 1958.

Selected publications

Memoir

Bryology

Astronomy

• Model of the Solar System, JBAA 19 (1908), p. 21[20]

• Correspondence: A Hanging Sundial, JBAA 19 (1909), p. 404[21]

• Correspondence: Iridescent Colours on Clouds, JBAA 25 (1914), p. 101[22]

• The Green Flash, JBAA 39 (1928), p. 61[23] & 39 (1929), p. 167[24]

• The Illumination of the Dark side of Venus, JBAA 44 (1934), p. 284[25]

• The Precious Things put Forth by the Moon, JBAA 51 (1941), p. 319[26]

Poetry

References

  1. Web site: 2021-04-06. 107 Agnes Fry. 2021-04-07. https://web.archive.org/web/20210406193356/http://www.frenchaymuseumarchives.co.uk/Archives/FryBooks/Vol-2/Page-107AgnesFry.htm. 2021-04-06.
  2. Book: Creese, Mary R. S.. Ladies in the Laboratory? American and British Women in Science, 1800-1900: A Survey of Their Contributions to Research. 2000-01-01. Scarecrow Press. 978-0-585-27684-7. en.
  3. Fry, Sir Edward (1827–1918), judge and zoologist. 2021-04-07. 2004. en. 10.1093/ref:odnb/33283.
  4. Book: Ruxton. Ian. The Diaries of Sir Ernest Satow, 1906-1911. 2019-08-24. Lulu.com. 978-0-359-87213-8. 151. en.
  5. Book: Fry, Edward. British mosses.. 1892. Witherby. London. 71. 10.5962/bhl.title.22645.
  6. Web site: Botany British History Online. 2021-04-06. www.british-history.ac.uk.
  7. Book: Lister, Gulielma. The mycetozoa;a short history of their study in Britain; an account of their habitats generally; and a list of species recorded from Essex.. 1918. Stratford. 2027/umn.31951000358545g.
  8. Book: Fry. Sir Edward. The Liverworts, British and Foreign. Fry. Agnes. 1911. Witherby & Company. en.
  9. 1918MNRAS..79...99. Page 99. 2021-05-17. articles.adsabs.harvard.edu. 1918MNRAS..79...99..
  10. Web site: 2021-04-06. Bristol City Council : Museum Collections. 2021-04-06. https://web.archive.org/web/20210406190318/https://museums.bristol.gov.uk/narratives.php?irn=15258. 2021-04-06.
  11. Web site: Miss Agnes Fry. 2021-04-07. Wellcome Collection. en.
  12. Web site: 2021-04-07. Things to see and do in Failand National Trust. 2021-04-07. https://web.archive.org/web/20210407070839/https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/failand/features/things-to-see-and-do-in-failand. 2021-04-07.
  13. Web site: 2021-04-06. Failand House National Trust. 2021-04-06. https://web.archive.org/web/20210406191418/https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/features/failand-house. 2021-04-06.
  14. Web site: Roger Eliot Fry (1866-1934) King's College Cambridge. 2021-04-07. www.kings.cam.ac.uk. en.
  15. Cho, Mijin (2010). British Quaker women and peace, 1880s to 1920s. University of Birmingham. Ph.D.
  16. Book: Fry. Agnes. A memoir of the Right Honourable Sir Edward Fry, G.C.B. [electronic resource] : Lord Justice of the Court of Appeal, Ambassador Extraordinary and first British plenipotentiary to the Second Hague Conference : 1827-1918]. Fry. Edward. 1921. [London] : H. Milford, Oxford University Press. University of California Libraries.
  17. Fry. Agnes. 1910. Pwdre Ser.. Nature. en. 83. 2122. 521. 10.1038/083521d0. 1910Natur..83..521F. 3958723. 1476-4687. free.
  18. Book: Fry. Edward. The Mycetozoa and some questions which they suggest. Fry. Agnes (1869-). 1899. London : Knowledge Office. University of California Libraries.
  19. Fry. Agnes. 1896. Position of Boughs in Summer and Winter. Nature. en. 55. 1418. 198. 10.1038/055198e0. 1896Natur..55..198F. 3981443. 1476-4687. free.
  20. Web site: 1908JBAA...19....1G Page 21. 2021-05-17. articles.adsabs.harvard.edu.
  21. Web site: 1909JBAA...19..403. Page 404. 2021-05-17. articles.adsabs.harvard.edu.
  22. Web site: 1914JBAA...25..101. Page 101. 2021-05-17. articles.adsabs.harvard.edu.
  23. Web site: 1928JBAA...39...61. Page 61. 2021-05-17. articles.adsabs.harvard.edu.
  24. Web site: 1929JBAA...39..165. Page 167. 2021-05-17. articles.adsabs.harvard.edu.
  25. Web site: 1934JBAA...44..281. Page 284. 2021-05-17. articles.adsabs.harvard.edu.
  26. Web site: SAO/NASA ADS Journal Query Page. 2021-05-22. articles.adsabs.harvard.edu.
  27. Book: Fry, Agnes. Stars and Constellations: A Little Guide to the Sky. 1911. J. Baker and Son. en.
  28. Book: Fry ([of - ?]), Agnes. Winter Sunshine and Other Verses. 1993. Orphans' Printing Press, Limited. en.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Agnes Fry".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.