Editing Selborne (section)

==Gilbert White==

[[File:Gilbert White's house, back view.JPG|left|thumb|Gilbert White's house, ''The Wakes'', now a museum, viewed from the back gardens in 2010]]

Selborne is famous for its association with the 18th-century [[natural history|naturalist]] [[Gilbert White]] (1720–1793), who lived at ''The Wakes'' and wrote ''[[The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://selborne.parish.hants.gov.uk/|title=Selborne Parish Council|date=19 December 2008|work=[[Hampshire County Council]]|access-date=30 March 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100926205304/http://selborne.parish.hants.gov.uk/|archive-date=26 September 2010|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Tourism helps to support the local [[pub]], shops and cafes, which the resident population alone would make unviable. Many people combine their visit with one to [[Jane Austen]]’s house in nearby [[Chawton]].

First published in 1789 by [[Benjamin White (publisher)|Benjamin White]] (Gilbert's brother), the book has not been out of print in over 200 years.<ref>Paul F. S. Cornelius, ‘White, Benjamin (c. 1725 – 1794)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Oct 2006 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/57016, accessed 12 Jan 2013]</ref> White is recognised as being the first ecologist or [[environmentalist]]. Most of his observations on [[wildlife]] remain pertinent, although he did have some strange theories. Most notorious is his belief that not all swallows, martins and swifts migrate, but that some might hibernate instead, although he mocked the peculiar Swedish notion that swallows spent the winter beneath the surface of the local ponds. White was writing before seasonal migration was fully understood. However, White was the first person to discover that swifts mate on the wing.

''The Wakes'' was subsequently home to [[Thomas Bell (zoologist)|Thomas Bell]], FRS, who moved there after retirement circa 1862, studied White's work, and edited a new edition of "The Natural History of Selborne".<ref name="ODNB">{{Cite ODNB|id=2029|title=Bell, Thomas}}</ref>

The 1957 [[British Transport Films]] documentary ''[[Journey into Spring]]'', directed by [[Ralph Keene]], is a tribute to White and portrays the arrival of spring in Selborne.

===Museum and Field Studies Centre===

''The Wakes'' has been converted into a museum, known as Gilbert White's house. This museum also contains the Oates Museum and family archive. This comprises an exhibition relating to the life of Captain [[Lawrence Oates]], who died on [[Robert Falcon Scott]]'s ill-fated expedition to [[Antarctica]] in the early 20th century, and [[Frank Oates]], his uncle. Frank Oates was an explorer and naturalist, who mounted expeditions in the late 19th century into [[Central America]] and [[Africa]].

In 2002 the Gilbert White Field Studies Centre moved into new premises, a restored and extended 16th-century Hampshire barn, which had been moved from [[Weston Patrick]] near Basingstoke and re-erected in the parkland of Gilbert White's home. This was achieved with financial support from the [[Heritage Lottery Fund]] and Hampshire County Council. It was officially opened by [[Charles, Prince of Wales|Prince Charles]] on 10 July 2002.

Selborne is still a good base for birdwatching, although White observed some species in the area which are no longer to be found. An example of a bird which disappeared is the [[great bustard]], which became extinct in Britain in the 19th century but is now the subject of a reintroduction project.

''The Wakes'' was substantially refurbished and updated in 2003–04. The costs of £1.3m were covered by a combination of personal, institutional and charity grants amounting to 50% of the total, matched by a grant from the [[National Lottery (United Kingdom)|National Lottery]] Heritage Fund. It is open throughout the year, attracting an annual average of 30,000 visitors. The Museum and Field Study Centre is a [[Charitable organization|registered charity]].<ref>{{EW charity|1159058|GILBERT WHITE & THE OATES COLLECTIONS}}</ref>