Heather Brigstocke, Baroness Brigstocke

Heather Renwick Brigstocke, Baroness Brigstocke CBE (born September 2, 1929 in Birchington-on-Sea , Kent , as Heather Renwick Brown , † April 30, 2004 in Glyfada , Greece ) was a British teacher , headmistress and life peer . With St Paul's Girls 'School she ran one of the most prestigious girls' schools in the UK for fifteen years. She was known for her extravagant demeanor and held functions in a wide variety of charitable and other organizations and institutions.

Life

Youth and education

Heather Renwick Brown had Scottish parents and a younger sister. The father, John Renwick Brown, a former miner, served as a flying officer in the Royal Air Force and later rose to squadron leader . The mother Mary Jane Calder “May”, born in a Presbyterian pastor's family, was born. Campbell, was a teacher trained at the University of Glasgow . Her father's job involved frequent changes of residence, and by the time she was eleven, Heather attended no fewer than six different schools in the UK and China , with parents taking care to reduce the discontinuity of this childhood through discipline and hard work was compensated during learning.

Heather completed her schooling at the Abbey School girls' school in Reading , Berkshire , where she was already noticed by her poorly adapted behavior. Annie Ure , the classical language teacher and wife of the professor of classical philology at the University of Reading , encouraged her to study at Cambridge . She received a government scholarship that allowed her to enter Girton College , which at the time became the official college of the University of Cambridge . She opted for the Classical Tripos , attended classes on Classical Philology for the first part and specialized in archeology and anthropology in the second part of the training.

During this time she developed a great passion for theater and acting. She was a member of the University Amateur Dramatic Club and took part in a tour of the troupe in Sweden where she played Margaret Clandon in You Never Know by George Bernard Shaw . In 1950 she became the first woman to appear in Greek Play , a traditional event where students from the University of Cambridge perform a classical play in Ancient Greek every three years ; she filled the role of Antigone in a production of Oedipus on Colonus by Sophocles . She was also the first female winner of the Winchester Reading Prize , which is awarded for best performance in a university reading competition. Through these activities and active participation in the social life of her fellow students, she neglected her studies, which she ultimately graduated with mediocre grades. The parents were appalled at Heather's desire to become an actress and refused to fund an education. Although her plans therefore failed, the experiences in Cambridge had a lasting impact on her, especially with regard to the realization that an effective appearance and elegant clothing can prove to be advantageous in a wide variety of life situations.

First positions as a teacher

After graduation, she worked for a time as a saleswoman for boys underwear at Selfridges in London's Oxford Street before taking a position as a teacher of classical languages at the near Regent's Park situated Francis Holland School took, where they remained until the 1953rd After she - unusual for the time - had already lived with him for a while, she married Geoffrey Reginald William Brigstocke, twelve years her senior, who was a civil servant and also a classical philologist. In the following years she gave birth to three children, two boys (* 1953 and * 1955) and a girl (* 1957), whom the parents named after Persephone . Her domestic responsibilities didn't stop Brigstocke from continuing to teach as a part-time teacher at Godolphin and Latymer School in the Hammersmith neighborhood .

In 1961 her husband was transferred to Washington, DC as an attaché , where the family accompanied him. Heather Brigstocke taught Latin at the National Cathedral School and established contacts in upper social circles. On the occasion of a children's party in the White House , she gave an address to an audience for the first time and thanked the host couple Jackie and John F. Kennedy . While she was very nervous at the start of this new role, in later years she developed into an accomplished speaker who knew how to cope with her task in a witty and relaxed manner and how to capture the attention of the audience with her melodious voice. During her time in Washington, Brigstocke also had her fourth child, another son, in 1961.

Headmistress at two girls' schools

After returning to England, she was appointed headmistress of the Francis Holland School, where she had started teaching. Under her resolute and dynamic leadership - against resistance from traditionalists - the venerable institution was restructured, including the introduction of a regular upper school, an expanded curriculum and a new laboratory building. She knew how to encourage ambition in both students and teaching staff, and over the next nine years she succeeded in making the school one of the leading educational institutions of its kind in the country.

Main building of St Paul's Girls' School, where Heather Brigstocke was the principal from 1974 to 1989

In 1974 she then succeeded Alison Munro , one of the most prestigious positions for school principals in Great Britain, the post of "High Mistress" at the prestigious St Paul's Girls' School in Hammersmith, which she held for fifteen years. Always tending to break with traditions, she introduced numerous innovations at the school during this time, such as setting up a scholarship fund, making physics and Latin core subjects, developing a broad network of international contacts, establishing a compulsory course in self-defense, a Computer room and was able to attract respected guest speakers. She demonstrated a particular talent for raising funds by courting wealthy parents and alumni , which enabled a number of new libraries and laboratories to be set up at the school, as well as an in-house theater. Although she had committed herself to the goal of bringing more girls from simple social backgrounds to school, her innovations mainly contributed to the fact that the status of the school rose and that daughters from upper social circles increasingly looked to it for training.

Brigstocke was known for advising colleagues on the choice of their wardrobe and for taking long shopping trips to ensure that they chose clothing that was both elegant and unusual. In some cases she supported female students from her own resources. The opinions of her subordinate employees and her pupils, including the later actresses Imogen Stubbs and Rachel Weisz, were quite divided. While some valued Brigstocke's unconventional and extravagant demeanor and saw her as a role model, others accused her of a lack of intellectual depth, a lack of interest in the students and the actual teaching activities as well as an occasional quick-tempered and unfriendly behavior. Occasionally, episodes related to her found their way into the gossip columns of the press, for example when she was able to persuade prominent parents to appear on stage as part of a fundraising event for the school theater and, on the same occasion, a cancan herself - in petticoat and fishnet stockings offered. Such antics may have contributed to her unsuccessful application for the post of rector of New Hall College at the University of Cambridge.

During her years as St Paul's High Mistress, Brigstocke held roles in a plethora of charities and other agencies, often roles that she could relate to her desire to participate in society. She was a member of the National Gallery's Board of Trustees from 1975 to 1982 and served as President of the Girls' Schools Association from 1980 to 1981 . She also served intermittently as President of the Bishop Creighton House Settlement , a member of the Central Committee of the Automobile Association , served on the governing bodies of Middlesex Hospital Medical School , City University London and the Royal Society of Arts , and served on the advisory boards of four other educational institutions, including the Wellington College in Berkshire and the Royal Ballet School . In later years she also served on the board of directors of London Weekend Television .

On reaching the age of 60 Brigstocke resigned in 1989 from the position of headmistress of the St Paul's Girls' School.

Later years

In 1990 she was promoted to life peer with the title Baroness Brigstocke . In the House of Lords , she joined the Tories , although she occasionally voted against the party line.

She expanded her association activities again, where she again demonstrated special skills in collecting donations. As President of the Geffrye Museum , she managed to raise over five million pounds for its expansion. From 1993 she acted as chair of the English-Speaking Union and expanded the range of its activities so that branches could be set up in nine additional, mainly non-English-speaking countries, including Brazil , the People's Republic of China , Japan and Lithuania . She paid particular attention to her role as Chair of the Advisory Board of Landau Forte College in Derby . She also ran Home-Start International , a charitable organization working to help families in need, served on the boards of Burberry , The Times, and Great Universal Stores , and served on the Museums and Galleries Commission and Health Education Authority.

For her numerous services she was awarded the CBE of the Order of the British Empire in 2000 .

Private

She was married twice. With her first husband Geoffrey Reginald William Brigstocke, whom she married in 1952, she had four children, three sons and a daughter. The husband died on March 3, 1974 together with 345 other people in the crash of a Turkish Airlines plane near Paris , shortly after a stopover on the way to London. His widow, who at the time of the accident had just been preparing for her position at St Paul's Girls' School, had to continue raising her underage children alone. She transformed her deep grief into increased energy in her new role. In 2000, at the age of 70, she married Hugh Griffiths, Baron Griffiths , six years her senior , a former Lord of Appeal in Ordinary whom she knew from the time his - now deceased - first wife was on the St Paul's school board and she had been the couple's guest on the Isle of Wight .

Despite her extensive obligations, Brigstocke attached great importance to her family life. She loved painting and sculpture, good food and fine wine, and traveling, occasionally by bike. In the midst of her joy, she was valued for her relaxed demeanor and disrespectful humor.

death

Heather Renwick Brigstocke, Baroness Brigstocke died on April 30, 2004 at the age of 74 in a traffic accident in Glyfada near Athens , the latter one of her favorite travel destinations.

After an event by Home-Start International, accompanied by her personal assistant Rosamund Magid, she wanted to cross a street on the walk to the hotel in poor lighting conditions and both were hit by a car that was moving too fast and fatally injured. The driver in charge was charged by the Greek judiciary in 2006 for negligence in double manslaughter.

Fonts (selection)

• Education. The Springboard to Life . Women in Management, Croyden 1985.
• True humanism. The Nicholas Bacon Memorial Lecture 1984 . Stocksfield Studio, Stocksfield 1985, ISBN 1-85102-002-0 .

literature

• Anne Mustoe: Brigstocke [née Brown], Heather Renwick, Baroness Brigstocke (1929-2004) . In: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography . Oxford University Press, Oxford 2004.
• Lady Brigstocke . Telegraph obituarydated May 6, 2004.
• Katharine Whitehorn : Baroness Brigstocke of Kensington Guardian's obituary dated May 4, 2004.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Former head of leading girls' school killed by speeding driver while on charity mission in Greece . In: Daily Mail . November 4, 2008.
2. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u} Anne Mustoe: Brigstocke [née Brown], Heather Renwick, Baroness Brigstocke (1929–2004) . In: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography . Oxford University Press, Oxford 2004.
3. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n} Lady Brigstocke . Telegraph obituary dated May 6, 2004.
4. ↑ ^{a b} Heather Renwick Brown, Baroness Brigstocke on thepeerage.com , accessed September 11, 2016.
5. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Katherine Whitehorn: Baroness Brigstocke of Kensington . Guardian obituary dated May 4, 2004.
6. ^ On the occasion of the "Women in management executive luncheon" on June 20, 1985.