Robert Marsham

Robert Marsham (27 January 1708–1797) is considered to be the founding father of phenology. Marsham is best known for his "Indications of Spring", the phenology notes which he started making in 1736 and continued writing for over 60 years. Successive generations of his family added to his work, and this information now provides immensely valuable data to the UK phenology database.

From a very early age he had shown a passion for the natural world.In later life, Marsham owned a modest sized country estate in Stratton Strawless, Norfolk.He became friendly with the naturalist Gilbert White, with whom he carried on a lengthy correspondence and who described him as a 'painful and accurate naturalist' (by "painful" he would have meant "painstaking").

Marsham provided a fascinating insight into the winter of 1739/40, the coldest year on record, when the contents of his chamber pot frequently froze overnight and the turnip crop was completely destroyed. Turnips, being a Norfolk speciality, feature elsewhere: he regularly recorded turnip flowering dates (needed when turnips were to produce seed). On a lighter note he was amazed at the size a turnip achieved and he was obviously very proud. Sparks,T & Lines,J pp35,61" Chapters in the life of Robert Marsham (1708-1797)" Published 2008 Retrieved August 06 2008] Cquote|My farm produced me a Turnip that weighed 19lbs&2oz, & was 39&half round|20px|20px|Robert Marsham

Marsham is still the only person in Norfolk to have recorded the wallcreeper bird. In 1736 he began recording 27 signs of spring that were continued by successive generations of his family until well into the 20th century and provide us a wealth of knowledge about how spring is influenced by prevailing weather conditions; now of huge interest in the climate change debate.

Marsham was the first to record the effects of nature and seasonal change.His interest in trees resulted in his being elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1780.

The Great Cedar

One of Marsham's legacies is the "Cedrus atlantica", known as the Great Cedar, which he planted in 1747 as an 18 inch sapling. The tree is located in Reed-house grove to the east of the Stratton Strawless hall; it was last measured in 2000, at which time it had attained a height of 102 feet and a circumference of 23 feet.

References

External links

* [http://www.robertmarsham.co.uk/ Robert Marsham's Tricentenary Celebrations website]
* Woodland Trust [http://www.naturescalendar.org.uk/marsham Nature's Calendar page]