Margaret Steuart Pollard
Encyclopedia
Margaret Steuart Pollard (1 March 1903 - 6 November 1996) was a scholar of Sanskrit
, a poet and self styled bard
of the Cornish language
. She was a member of Ferguson's Gang
, a secret society of supporters of the National Trust
.
She was born Margaret Gladstone, grand-niece of the Liberal prime minister William Gladstone, and from 1920 attended Newnham College, Cambridge
, 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 in Truro, Cornwall. By 1938 she had become a bard, and a member of the Cornish Gorsedd. She was an enthusiastic supporter of campaigns to defend the landscape, language and traditions of Cornwall and rural England. She joined Ferguson's gang (under the mockney
pseudonym Bill Stickers). On one occasion she donated £100 to the National Trust, wearing a full mask to preserve her anonymity.
In 1947 she published Cornwall described as ‘humorous, perceptive, and intelligent’. She completed a PhD in 1952, specializing in Sanskrit, Pali and Old Church Slavonic. Then in 1957 she converted to Roman Catholicism, and with the financial assistance of Ferguson's Gang built a Roman Catholic church dedicated to Our Lady of the Portal and St Piran on the site of a medieval chapel in Truro.
Her husband died in 1968; however, she remained an active poet and translator. She had given away much of her inherited wealth, and lived in one room in Truro. She remained a romantic figure, dressed in a long skirt and a scarf wrapped around her head.
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
, a poet and self styled bard
Bard
In medieval Gaelic and British culture a bard was a professional poet, employed by a patron, such as a monarch or nobleman, to commemorate the patron's ancestors and to praise the patron's own activities.Originally a specific class of poet, contrasting with another class known as fili in Ireland...
of the Cornish language
Cornish language
Cornish is a Brythonic Celtic language and a recognised minority language of the United Kingdom. Along with Welsh and Breton, it is directly descended from the ancient British language spoken throughout much of Britain before the English language came to dominate...
. She was a member of Ferguson's Gang
Ferguson's Gang
Ferguson's Gang was an anonymous and somewhat enigmatic group that raised funds for the National Trust during the period between the late 1920s and the outbreak of the Second World War...
, a secret society of supporters of the National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
.
She was born Margaret Gladstone, grand-niece of the Liberal prime minister William Gladstone, and from 1920 attended Newnham College, Cambridge
Newnham College, Cambridge
Newnham College is a women-only constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1871 by Henry Sidgwick, and was the second Cambridge college to admit women after Girton College...
, 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 in Truro, Cornwall. By 1938 she had become a bard, and a member of the Cornish Gorsedd. She was an enthusiastic supporter of campaigns to defend the landscape, language and traditions of Cornwall and rural England. She joined Ferguson's gang (under the mockney
Mockney
Mockney is an affected accent and form of speech in imitation of Cockney or working class London speech, or a person with such an accent...
pseudonym Bill Stickers). On one occasion she donated £100 to the National Trust, wearing a full mask to preserve her anonymity.
In 1947 she published Cornwall described as ‘humorous, perceptive, and intelligent’. She completed a PhD in 1952, specializing in Sanskrit, Pali and Old Church Slavonic. Then in 1957 she converted to Roman Catholicism, and with the financial assistance of Ferguson's Gang built a Roman Catholic church dedicated to Our Lady of the Portal and St Piran on the site of a medieval chapel in Truro.
Her husband died in 1968; however, she remained an active poet and translator. She had given away much of her inherited wealth, and lived in one room in Truro. She remained a romantic figure, dressed in a long skirt and a scarf wrapped around her head.