John Goodyer

Yalden was a land agent for estates owned by Magdalen College, Oxford near Petersfield, to the south,[2] and whose second wife was John Goodyer's sister, Rose (d.

[1] When he first started work, Goodyer lived at nearby Buriton, close to his employer before moving further west to the village of Droxford, in the Meon Valley.

Three years later, in November 1632, he married Patience Crumpe (b. c.1600), daughter of a London tailor, and moved to an area of Petersfield known as The Spain, where his substantial house still stands.

His intellectual interests prompted him to acquire botanical texts and to cultivate the company of apothecaries, who at that time possessed much of the knowledge of plants and their properties.

They suggest his intention was to produce a guide to the English flora, matching his observations with the texts of the continental authors he had studied, but he was never able to complete this.

Although not formally trained in medicine, like many herbalists of his time, he had a small practice using herbal remedies,[1] skills he passed on to his nephew, Rev.

He bequeathed his papers and extensive collection of 239 printed works to Magdalen College, Oxford in 1664, through his connection to the Yaldens.

[10][11][2] In his time Goodyer was well regarded, the contemporary botanist William Coles calling him "the ablest Herbarist now living in England" in 1657.

[b] He became recognised as one of the earliest amateur British botanists, and in 1922 Gunther at Magdalen College assembled his papers and published an account of his life and work.

Around this time a stained glass window (Figure 1) was installed in St Mary's Church, Buriton as a memorial to him, after funds were raised by public description.

However, Anne, the youngest daughter of William and Rose Yalden married a Petersfield lawyer named John Worlidge.