Bamber Gascoigne

Bamber Gascoigne CBE FRSL
Gascoigne in 2006, photographed by Christina Gascoigne
Born	Arthur Bamber Gascoigne (1935-01-24)24 January 1935 London, England
Died	8 February 2022(2022-02-08) (aged 87) Richmond, London, England
Education	Sunningdale School Eton College
Alma mater	Magdalene College, Cambridge Yale University
Occupation(s)	Television presenter, historian, author
Years active	1962-2022
Known for	Original quizmaster of University Challenge
Spouse	Christina Ditchburn ​ ​ (m. 1965)​ [1] [2]
Website	HistoryWorld Timesearch

Arthur Bamber Gascoigne CBE FRSL (24 January 1935 – 8 February 2022) was an English television presenter and author. He was the original quizmaster on University Challenge , which initially ran from 1962 to 1987.

Contents

• Early life and education
• Ancestry
• University Challenge
• Television and books
• Other activities
• External interests
• Personal life, honours and death
• Selected publications
• References
• External links

Early life and education

Gascoigne was born in London on 24 January 1935. ^[1] He was the elder son of Lieutenant-Colonel Derek Ernest Frederick Orby Gascoigne by his marriage in 1934 to Mary ("Midi") ^{[3] [4]} Louisa Hermione O'Neill.

Gascoigne was educated at Sunningdale School in Berkshire before winning scholarships to both Eton College and Magdalene College, Cambridge (1955), where he read English literature. ^[5] He initially wanted to become an actor, though found it tiresome to have to play the same part for more than a week, so instead turned to writing. While at Magdalene, he initially submitted scripts to the Footlights sketch troupe, though they were never performed. However, he wrote a college revue in his second year, which was seen by the producer Michael Codron. Codron liked it enough to put it on in the West End as a musical called Share My Lettuce, in 1957. ^[6] It was performed by Maggie Smith and Kenneth Williams (with music by Keith Statham and Patrick Gowers). ^{[6] [7]}

Gascoigne then spent a year as a Commonwealth Fund scholar at Yale University (1958–59). He carried out his National Service in the Grenadier Guards, including six months of duty at Buckingham Palace, before being posted to Germany. ^[6] After completing his National Service, he became employed as a theatre critic, firstly for The Spectator , and then The Observer . ^{[5] [6]}

He met his wife, Christina Ditchburn, at Cambridge, and they married in 1965. ^{[8] [3] [9]}

Ancestry

Gascoigne's family were originally Norman, arriving in England in the early 13th century. ^[6] Gascoigne's mother was a daughter of Captain the Hon. Arthur O'Neill and Lady Annabel Hungerford Crewe-Milnes. ^[1]

His father was the son of Brigadier-General Sir Ernest Frederick Orby Gascoigne and Laura Cicely, daughter of General Edward Henry Clive, of that family of Styche Hall, Shropshire, from which also came the soldier and administrator of India Robert Clive (Clive of India). ^[8]

Gascoigne's great-grandfathers included Robert Crewe-Milnes, 1st Marquess of Crewe, and Edward O'Neill, 2nd Baron O'Neill. ^[1] He was a nephew of Sir Julian Gascoigne, who was in charge of the Household Division during the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, and of Terence O'Neill, Prime Minister of Northern Ireland (1963–1969). ^[10]

Gascoigne was a direct descendant of the 18th-century Lord Mayor of London Sir Crisp Gascoyne and the Tory politicians Bamber Gascoyne (the elder) and Isaac Gascoyne. Isaac's son General Ernest Frederick Gascoyne, of Raby Hall, Liverpool (1796–1867), ^[2] was his great-great-great-grandfather. ^[2] The name Bamber was the surname of the Lord Mayor's wife, and was given to their son. ^[6]

University Challenge

Gascoigne was the original presenter (from 1962) of the television quiz show University Challenge , ^[7] based on the US series College Bowl . He held the position for 25 years, until the end of the initial run in 1987. ^[11] As well as presenting the show, in its initial series he also set all the questions. ^[12] His questioning manner was regarded as firm yet polite. ^[13] Phrases he often used which became catchphrases include: "Your starter for ten, no conferring", "fingers on buzzers” and "I'll have to hurry you." ^[14] The show was initially only set for 13 episodes, but it was such a hit that Gascoigne eventually presented 913 episodes. ^[6] A number of contestants later became notable in their respective careers, including Stephen Fry and Miriam Margolyes. ^[6] When the show was revived in 1994 with Jeremy Paxman, Gascoigne declined to apply to present it again, as he was already involved with other projects. ^[6]

In 1984 Gascoigne was parodied by Griff Rhys Jones in the alternative comedy series The Young Ones , in an episode entitled "Bambi". ^[15] Ade Edmondson, a regular cast member of The Young Ones, later appeared on the real University Challenge. ^[16] In 1998, Gascoigne presented a parody named Universe Challenge based on the sci-fi comedy series Red Dwarf . ^[17]

Gascoigne was also portrayed by actor Mark Gatiss in the 2006 comedy-drama film Starter for 10 , directed by Tom Vaughan. ^[6]

Television and books

Gascoigne was the author of Murgatreud's Empire, a 1972 satirical novel concerning an entrepreneur who finds an island of pygmies, and trades them arms for treasure, recreating the development of European medieval weaponry and armour. ^[18] This was originally written as a script, although the play was abandoned because of the impossibility of finding suitable performers for a cast of forty pygmies. ^[6]

In 1977, Gascoigne wrote and presented The Christians, ^[19] a 13-hour television documentary series on the history of Christianity, produced by Granada Television and broadcast on ITV. The same year he wrote a companion book, under the same title, with photography by his wife, Christina Gascoigne, published by Jonathan Cape. In 2003 it was revised and republished as A Brief History of Christianity by Robinson Publishing. ^[20]

Gascoigne wrote Quest for the Golden Hare, a 1983 account of the internationally publicised treasure hunt associated with the publication in 1979 of Kit Williams' book Masquerade . ^[6] On 8 August 1979, Gascoigne was witness to the burial by Williams of a unique jewelled, solid gold hare pendant in an earthenware jar "somewhere in Britain". The book documents the search and a scandal associated with finding it. ^{[6] [21]}

In 1987, Gascoigne presented a documentary series of six 30-minute programmes on Victorian history, Victorian Values, produced by Granada Television. The programmes looked at how Victorian society put in place the infrastructure of the modern welfare state. ^[18]

In 1988, Gascoigne devised and presented a BBC Two arts quiz called Connoisseur, for which he also set the questions. ^[22]

Gascoigne was the writer and presenter for the TV series The Great Moghuls (1990), a study of the Mughal Empire of India. ^[23] The series was based on Gascoigne's 1971 book of the same name, which features photographs by his wife. ^[23]

Other activities

Gascoigne established an online history encyclopaedia, HistoryWorld , ^[24] based on British history. He had already published a hard copy of this encyclopaedia, but he saw the internet as an opportunity to reach millions more than the book alone. ^[6] He also established TimeSearch, ^[25] which presents multiple searchable timelines collected from various websites. ^[26]

Gascoigne was a lifelong supporter of the Liberal Party and subsequently the Liberal Democrats. He publicly endorsed the latter during their 2019 general election campaign. ^{[27] [28]} In August 2014, Gascoigne was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian opposing Scottish independence in the run-up to September's referendum on that issue. ^[29]

On the death of his great-aunt Mary Innes-Ker, Duchess of Roxburghe, in 2014, ^[30] Gascoigne inherited an estate at West Horsley, Surrey, including West Horsley Place, a large country house dating from the 16th century. ^{[31] [32]} Gascoigne sold some of the late Duchess's possessions and used the proceeds to restore the house. This was followed by the building of an opera house in its grounds, the Theatre in the Woods, which serves as the home base of the Grange Park Opera. ^{[33] [34]} An original pencil and chalk study for the painting Flaming June by Sir Frederic Leighton was found on the back of a bedroom door in the house. Art historians had known a sketch existed as it had been included in an art magazine in 1895, but did not know who owned it; it was probably bought by the Duchess's paternal grandfather after Leighton's death. ^[35] From 2018 until 2023, West Horsley Place was used as the filming location for the fictional Button House in the BBC TV comedy series Ghosts. ^[36]

External interests

Gascoigne was elected in 1976 as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. ^[37] He was a trustee of the National Gallery, a trustee of the Tate Gallery, a member of the council of the National Trust, and a member of the board of directors of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. ^[11] He was also a patron of the Museum of Richmond. ^[38]

Personal life, honours and death

Gascoigne was married, for 57 years, ^{[6] [33]} to Christina (née Ditchburn), daughter of civil servant Alfred Henry Ditchburn, CBE . ^{[1] [2]} He met Christina at Cambridge. They lived in Richmond, London, from the late 1960s. ^[19] She is an artist working in ceramics, silks and other media. ^{[39] [40]} The couple did not have any children. ^[41]

Gascoigne was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2018 Birthday Honours for services to the Arts. ^[42]

In January 2022, Gascoigne was hospitalised for three weeks with pneumonia. Following his hospitalisation, Gascoigne's health drastically declined. ^[43] He died at his home in Richmond on 8 February 2022, at the age of 87. ^[15] Stephen Fry led the tributes to Gascoigne, saying he was "such an elegant, intelligent man". Victoria Coren Mitchell, host of BBC quiz show Only Connect , said: "No quiz host has ever seemed more like they could answer all the questions themselves." ^[15]

Selected publications

• 1962: Twentieth Century Drama, London: Hutchinson University Library ISBN   978-0-0906-5843-5 ^[44]
• 1968: Leda Had a Little Swan OCLC   44110879 (play, cancelled on the day before opening, in New York, after fourteen previews)
• 1968: World Theatre: An Illustrated History, Ebury Press ISBN   978-0316305006
• 1971: The Great Moghuls (with photographs by Christina Gascoigne), London: Jonathan Cape; New York: Harper & Row ^[23]
• 1973: The Treasures and Dynasties of China (with photographs by Christina Gascoigne and Derrick Witty), Jonathan Cape. ISBN   0-224-00925-7 Republished 2003 as A Brief History of the Dynasties of China ISBN   1-84119-791-2
• 1973: The Heyday, Jonathan Cape ISBN   978-0224009058 (novel)
• 1974: Ticker Khan: A Fable, Jonathan Cape ISBN   978-022-401061-0
• 1975: Castles of Great Britain (introduction; with Christina Gascoigne), Thames and Hudson, ISBN   0-500-24098-1
• 1977: The Christians (with photographs by Christina Gascoigne), London: Jonathan Cape; New York: William Morrow & Co. ISBN   0-688-03220-6 Revised and republished 2003 as A Brief History of Christianity, Robinson Publishing ISBN   1-84119-710-6 ^[20]
• 1981: Why the Rope Went Tight (children's stories, with pictures by Christina Gascoigne), London: Methuen; New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books ISBN   978-0688005900
• 1982: Fearless Freddy's Sunken Treasure (children's stories, with pictures by Christina Gascoigne), London: Methuen ISBN   0-416-06510-4 ^[45]
• 1982: Fearless Freddy's Magic Wish (children's stories, with pictures by Christina Gascoigne), London: Methuen ISBN   978-0-416-06520-6
• 1983: Quest for the Golden Hare, Jonathan Cape ISBN   0-224-02116-8
• 1986: Cod Streuth, Jonathan Cape ISBN   0-224-02388-8
• 1986: How to Identify Prints: A Complete Guide to Manual and Mechanical Processes from Woodcut to Inkjet, Thames & Hudson; revised 2nd edition 2004 ISBN   0-500-28480-6
• 1988: (with J Wright): Bamber Gascoigne's Book of Amazing Facts, London: Walker Books ISBN   0-7445-1082-1; ISBN   978-0-7445-1082-9
• 1993: Encyclopaedia of Britain: The A–Z of Britain's Past and Present, Macmillan Publishers ISBN   0-333-54764-0
• 1997: Milestones in Colour Printing 1457–1859: With a Bibliography of Nelson Prints (The Sandars Lectures in Bibliography), Cambridge University Press ISBN   978-0-521-55441-1 ^[46]
• 1998: A Brief History of the Great Moghuls: India's Most Flamboyant Rulers [revised edition of The Great Moghuls (1971)], Philadelphia: Running Press ISBN   0-7867-1040-3
• 2007: Bamber Gascoigne's Challenging Quiz Book, London: Penguin Books ISBN   978-0-14-103470-6
• 2010: A Brief History of the Second World War, HistoryWorld ISBN   1-908143-00-2
• 2011: A Brief History of the First World War, HistoryWorld ISBN   1-908143-03-7, ISBN   1-908143-03-7
• 2011: The Maya, Aztecs, Incas and Conquistadors: A Brief History, HistoryWorld ISBN   978-1-908143-06-8
• 2014: The Dynasties of China: A History, The Folio Society ISBN   0-786712-19-8 ^[47]

Related Research Articles

University Challenge is a British television quiz programme which first aired in 1962. University Challenge aired for 913 episodes on ITV from 21 September 1962 to 31 December 1987, presented by quizmaster Bamber Gascoigne. The BBC revived the programme on 21 September 1994, the programme's 32nd anniversary, with Jeremy Paxman as the quizmaster. Paxman relinquished his role as host following the conclusion of the 52nd series in 2023, after which he was succeeded by Amol Rajan. In October 2022, an ITV documentary, Paxman: Putting Up With Parkinson's, explored how Parkinson's disease has impacted him and revealed that Paxman recorded his very last episode of University Challenge on 15 October 2022, which aired on 29 May 2023.

Paul John Gascoigne, nicknamed Gazza, is an English former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Regarded as one of the best playmakers of his generation and one of the best English footballers of all time, Gascoigne is described by the National Football Museum as "widely recognised as the most naturally talented English footballer of his generation". Gascoigne was immensely popular during his playing career, with television broadcaster Terry Wogan calling him "probably the most popular man in Britain today" in September 1990, and public interest in and adoration for him came to be known as "Gazzamania".

Masquerade is a picture book, written and illustrated by Kit Williams and published in August 1979, that sparked a treasure hunt by including concealed clues to the location of a jewelled golden hare that had been created and hidden somewhere in Britain by Williams. The book became the inspiration for a genre of books known today as armchair treasure hunts.

Richard Alan Fortey is a British palaeontologist, natural historian, writer and television presenter, who served as president of the Geological Society of London for its bicentennial year of 2007.

Dominic Christopher Sandbrook is a British historian, author, columnist and television presenter.

Mary Evelyn Hungerford Innes-Ker, Duchess of Roxburghe, born Lady Mary Crewe-Milnes, was a British aristocrat. She was a daughter of Robert Crewe-Milnes, 1st Marquess of Crewe, by his marriage to Lady Peggy Primrose, one of the first seven women appointed as magistrates in 1919 following the passing of the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919. Her maternal grandparents were Hannah de Rothschild and Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery.

Starter for 10 is a 2006 British comedy-drama film directed by Tom Vaughan from a screenplay by David Nicholls, adapted from his 2003 novel Starter for Ten. The film stars James McAvoy as a university student who wins a place on a University Challenge quiz team. It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2006, and was released in the UK and Ireland on 10 November 2006, and in Canada and the US on 23 February 2007.

The Bibi Ka Maqbara is a tomb located in the city of Aurangabad in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It was commissioned in 1660 by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb's son prince Azam Shah in the memory of his loving mother Dilras Banu Begum. It bears a striking resemblance to the Taj Mahal, the mausoleum of Aurangzeb's mother, Mumtaz Mahal and that is why it is also called the Taj of the Deccan. Aurangzeb was not much interested in architecture though he had commissioned the small, but elegant, Moti Masjid at Delhi. Bibi Ka Maqbara is the second largest structure that Aurangzeb has built, the largest being the Badshahi Mosque.

West Horsley is a semi-rural village between Guildford and Leatherhead in Surrey, England. It lies on the A246, and south of the M25 and the A3. Its civil parish ascends to an ancient woodland Sheepleas Woods which are on the northern downslopes of the ridge of hills known as the North Downs in the extreme south of the village, and cover about a tenth of its area, 255 acres (1 km²). The bulk of its land is north of the Surrey Hills AONB; the rest is within it.

Isaac Gascoyne was a British Army officer and Tory politician. He was born at Barking, Essex on 21 August 1763, the third son of Bamber Gascoyne (senior) and Mary Green and was educated at Felsted School.

Alan Edwin Gowling is an English former footballer who played as a forward for several clubs in the north of England.

Grange Park Opera is a professional opera company and charity whose base is West Horsley Place in Surrey, England. Founded in 1998, the company staged an annual opera festival at The Grange, in Hampshire and in 2016–7, built a new opera house, the 'Theatre in the Woods', at West Horsley Place – the 350-acre estate inherited by author and broadcaster Bamber Gascoigne in 2014.

Sir Henry Ernest Gascoyne Bulwer,, the nephew of Sir Henry Lytton Bulwer and brother to Edward Earle Gascoyne Bulwer, was a British colonial administrator and diplomat.

Bamber Gascoyne of Childwall Hall, Lancashire (1725–1791), was an 18th-century English politician who sat in the House of Commons of Great Britain between 1761 and 1786.

Major-General Sir Julian Alvery Gascoigne, was a senior British Army officer who served in the Second World War and became Major-General commanding the Household Brigade and General Officer Commanding London District. After retiring from the army, he worked as a stockbroker and then served as Governor of Bermuda from 1959 to 1964.

Janina Sara Maria Ramirez, sometimes credited as Nina Ramirez, is a British art historian, cultural historian, and TV presenter. She specialises in interpreting symbols and examining works of art within their historical context.

Jonathan Green is a freelance writer. He has written for various science fiction and fantasy franchises, including Doctor Who, Fighting Fantasy, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Games Workshop's Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000 game universes.

HistoryWorld is an interactive online history encyclopaedia that seeks to make world history more easily accessible through interactive narratives and timelines. It was established by Bamber Gascoigne who started developing it in 1994. It went online in June 2001 and in 2002 it won the New Statesman New Media award for the best educational website. In 2007 Gascoigne launched a related site, at TimeSearchArchived 15 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine, using timelines as a way of searching the internet.

West Horsley Place is a Grade I listed building in West Horsley, to the east of Guildford in Surrey, England. There are eight further Grade II buildings on the estate, including two mid-19th-century dog kennels.

Childwall Hall was a 19th-century English country house located in Childwall, Liverpool, England. Built on the site of a previous mansion of the same name the Gothic Revival building was the seat of parliamentarian Bamber Gascoyne, a noted opponent of the abolition of slavery. The main building was demolished in 1949 and the current site is now occupied by a television production company Lime Pictures. A lodge building and a few ruins of the same style are all that remain of the hall.

References