Herbert Watney

Herbert Watney (1843–1932) of Buckhold, Pangbourne, Berkshire (now St. Andrew's School) was a nineteenth century London physician, landowner and philanthropist, and a strong supporter of Christian missions.

After holding the customary resident appointments at St George's Hospital, London he was made Senior Assistant Physician and joint lecturer on physiology from 1881 to 1883.

He joined the Physiological Society in 1881: for a period he was engaged in research on the thymus with Burdon Sanderson at University College London and Klein at the Brown Institute.

After retiring as a physician he devoted himself for the remainder of his long life to his estate at Buckhold in Berkshire, where he became known as an expert on afforestation and pedigree cattle and for his generosity in installing a water supply for neighbouring villages.

Having acquired the Quinta Magnolia estate (later the British Country Club and now a public park) in Madeira in 1895, he spent much of the winter there, developing the gardens and filling them with a variety of exotic plants.

[8] Watney met William S. Rainsford working in a Mission in the East End of London in 1868, and as a result they arranged the emigration of 800 people to Canada.