Ditton, Kent

Ditton is a large village and civil parish in the borough of Tonbridge and Malling in Kent, England. The village is 4.6 miles (7.4 km) west-northwest of Maidstone and 1.8 miles (2.9 km) east of West Malling. The parish, which is long and narrow, straddles the A20 (the old Dover to London road), with farmland to the south and industry to the north. It lies in the Medway Valley, on the northern edge of the Kent Weald, and adjoins the ancient parishes of Larkfield, Aylesford and Barming.

## History

The origins of the village can be traced to the stream which runs through the parish and gave rise to many corn mills along its length. The earliest recorded mention of the village is in the Domesday Book of 1086. The village contains a number of listed buildings, which include a 12th-century church, an old mill house, and two oast houses.

More recently, ragstone and newsprint industries have developed and become essential sources of local employment. The population of the village snowballed with the overspill of housing from the nearby town of Maidstone. Today Ditton has a mixed agricultural and industrial economy, with a wide range of social and leisure facilities. In 2001 it had a population of 4,786.

The name Ditton comes from the Saxon "Dictune" meaning the village situated on the dike, or trench of water. This derives from the Bradbourne Stream which rises near East Malling and passes through the village. The stream supplied the now defunct Aylesford Newsprint site, once the largest paper recycling factory in Europe, with part of its water supply.

Evidence of the early occupation of Ditton is scant. A Mesolithic tranchet axe, a sharpening flake, three microliths and 36 blades were found at Ditton, but the exact site of the find is now unknown. Mesolithic flint implements, Iron Age pottery and pit dwellings have also been reported in the Holt Hill area of Ditton.

An Anglo-Saxon spearhead was found in July 1962 by D. Tamkin in cutting through a natural knoll of sand on Messrs Reed's playing fields at Cobdown, Ditton. It is possible that the spearhead came from a grave on the top of the knoll, destroyed during the making or widening of the cutting. The first recorded mention of Ditton is in the Domesday Book, with an entry dated 1086. At that time the village had 31 dwellings. The Domesday Book states: "Haimo the sheriff holds of the bishop (of Baieux) Dictune. It was taxed at one suling. The arable land is four carucates. In demesne there are two, and 20 villeins, with five borderers, having three carucates. There is a church and six servants, and one mill of 10 shillings, and eight acres of meadow, and 35 acres of pasture. Wood for the pannage of six hogs. In the time of King Edward the Confessor, it was worth 8 pounds, when he received it 100 shillings, now 8 pounds. Sbern held it of King Edward."

There was another estate (manor) in the parish at that time called Sifletone, which also belonged to the Bishop of Baieux (Bayeux), and was entered into the Domesday Book: "Vitalis holds of the bishop (of Baieux) Sifletone. It was taxed at three yokes. The arable land is one carucate. In demesne, there is one carucate and a half, and six villeins, with one borderer, having half a carucate. There are six servants, and one mill of 10s. There are ten acres of meadow and thirty acres of pasture. In the time of the Confessor, it was worth 40 shillings when he received it four pounds, now 100 shillings. In the time of king Edward the Confessor, two men, Leuuin and Uluuin, held this land in coparcenary, and could turn themselves over with this land to whomever they would."

Thus there were three manors within the parish; Ditton Manor, with the appendant Brampton Manor, and Sifletone, all of which were owned by the Bishop of Bayeux at this time. The Bishop of Bayeaux was Odo, Earl of Kent, half brother of William the Conqueror. In 1082, after it was discovered that Odo planned a military expedition to Italy, he was imprisoned, and his estates (including Ditton, Brampton, and Sifletone) were confiscated to the Crown. Following this, Ditton Manor appears to have been held by the Clares, earls of Gloucester, by a family who assumed their surname from Ditton. Likewise, Sifletone was confiscated and went to another family who took their surname from it.

Ditton has a ford which, along with St Peter's Ad Vincula's Church, is situated in a conservation area on the west of a large green. The church is dated to the 12th century with a later 14th-century tower, and the first bell of Ditton church was hung there in 1656. Ditton parish register has as its opening words, "The Register book of Ditton beginning Anno Dom. 1663. William Jole, rector, inducted Rector of Ditton, 1st August, Anno Dom. 1663." Also at the commencement, it is recorded, on 1 August 1711, that every acre of woodland in the parish of Ditton by immemorial custom pays tithe to the rector. In 1798 Ditton was recorded as being within the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Diocese of Rochester, and deanery of Malling. This parish, among others, was obliged to contribute to the repair of the fifth pier of Rochester bridge. The church was restored in 1860 by Sir George Gilbert Scott.

The north nave window has fragments of fourteenth-century glass, and the nave has a good selection of hanging wall monuments and a benefactions board. A lead plaque on the nave wall, removed from the tower roof in 1859, has a picture of a ship from Nelson's time scratched on it. The mill that was recorded in the Domesday Book, Church Mill, was located close to the ford and closed down around 1912.

In 1798 the parish was described in the following terms: "The high road from London, through Wrotham, to Maidstone, crosses the middle of it, at the thirty-first milestone; the village stands on it, and the church about a quarter of a mile further southward, on an ascent, beyond which, the parish reaches into the large tract of coppice woods, which extends as far as Teston and Barming. The stream from Bradborne Park runs through this parish and village, across the above road, and having turned two mills, one above and the other below it, runs on to the River Medway, which is the northern boundary of this parish, near the north-west extremity of which, on the road leading from Larkfield to Newhith, and not far distant from that hamlet and the river, is Borough Court. This parish is rather an obscure place, and has nothing further worthy of notice in it."

The three manors (estates) of Ditton, Brampton, and Sifletone were back in common ownership in the reign of Henry VII, when they belonged to "Thomas Leigh of Sibton in Liminge". The subsequent history of the manors is as follows:

The manor of Ditton included a mansion called Ditton Place, not to be confused with Ditton Court. Ditton Place was built in the late 16th century by the Brewer family and stood on the site now occupied by Troutbeck House. It remained in the Brewer family until 1701 when, by default of mortgage, it came into the possession of Thomas Golding of Leybourne Castle who, in 1703, served as Sheriff of Kent. He bequeathed Ditton Place to his nephew, Thomas Golding of Ryarsh, who sold it to John Brewer, a prominent lawyer and member of parliament. John Brewer's daughter, Mrs Carney of West Farleigh, re-conveyed the house back to Thomas Golding again in about 1735. His son, John Golding, inherited it in 1769. There is a reference in Organa Britannica to an organ built by renowned organ builder John Avery which was moved in the late 18th century from West Malling Parish Church to a recess in the hall of Ditton Place, described as the manor house of the area and owned by the Golding family. John Golding's son, also called John, was the last of his family to reside there. He died at Ditton Place in 1856, whereafter it was purchased by Septimus Maitland, a former plantation owner from Jamaica, who substantially remodelled the house around 1860. In 1876, it was purchased from Maitland by the Rev. John Young Stratton, a prominent campaigner against rural poverty, and Rector of Ditton for 48 years. Ditton Place was destroyed by arson in 1987. Today, Troutbeck House lies at the centre of a modern housing estate. One of the roads of the estate takes its name from the original house.

Ditton Court was located just to the west of St Peter's Church. Court is a term used widely in Kent in place of Manor. Ditton Court was the seat of the Lord of the Manor of Ditton, but over the centuries most holders of the manor were possessed of landholdings elsewhere and held Ditton in absentia. When the lord was in attendance, it was often to preside over the manorial court, which decided local issues relating to land tenure, services owed to the lord by his tenants, and even petty crime. Ditton Court was demolished in 1972 to make way for a modern housing development that bears its name.

Brampton Manor probably stood on the site of the New Road Industrial Estate. After the manor was destroyed the site was known as Brampton Field, at least until the 18th century, and indeed one of the streets of the housing estate which covers the site today is named Brampton Field.

Sifflington Manor (Sifletone) was an estate within Ditton parish and appeared to have been incorporated into Ditton Manor at some stage before the 19th century.

A manor house, Borough Court (also known as Brooke Court), stood in the northernmost part of the parish; though it no longer exists it probably stood in the vicinity of the modern Aylesford Newsprint site. The Culpepper family of Aylesford owned the house during the reign of King Edward III (1327–1377). The High Sheriff of Kent in 1426–27, Walter Culpeper, was the owner until the house devolved onto his heirs, eventually passing to Richard Culpeper (later Sir Richard Culpepper) who also owned the manor house at Oxon Hoath. Sir Richard Culpepper died in 1484 without issue, and the house was divided amongst his three daughters, one of whom was Joyce Culpeper—whose daughter was Catherine Howard and would become the fifth wife of King Henry VIII. The house was then sold to Francis Shakerly who hailed from Shakerly, Kent.

### Notable people

William Kempe, the parson of Ditton, was sued for £80 in 1534 for being absent from his parish and for taking a stipend for saying prayers for the souls of the dead (which was prohibited by a statute of 1529). Although Kempe admitted being absent, he claimed that he was chaplain to Baron John Zouche and thus entitled to receive two benefices.

The Rev. John Young Stratton (1829/30 – 1905) was an author, essayist, social reformer, campaigner against rural poverty, and Rector of Ditton for 48 years. He is now remembered chiefly for his tireless campaigning to improve the lives of farm labourers and hop-pickers. In terms of the latter, the remaining hopper huts across Kent and further afield are a testament to his legacy. In 1868, he advocated for a system of national insurance to be administered through the Post Office, which closely resembles the modern welfare state. A highly respected figure, his obituary referred to him as “probably the best known clergyman in Mid-Kent” and “the Hoppers’ friend”. John Stratton was also responsible for the restoration and alteration of St Peter’s Church in 1860, under the supervision of Sir (George) Gilbert Scott.

William Boghurst was an apothecary, and native, of Ditton, who remained in London during the Great Plague of 1665. During the plague, his medical practice expanded and he made his name. He stayed in the city throughout the epidemic, treating by his own account "40, 50 or 60 patients a day". By the end of the year his reputation was sufficient to attract offers from the corporation of Norwich, which tried to employ him when the infection reached there. He wrote a book about his experience which, although not printed at the time, was subsequently published in 1894 for the Epidemiological Society of London under the title Loimographia: an Account of the Great Plague of London in the year 1665. In later life his fortunes appear to have declined, as he could not afford the livery of his company in 1682. Boghurst died on 2 September 1685 aged 54 and was conveyed from London to be buried in the churchyard at Ditton.

Thomas Tilson was the rector of Ditton from 1679 to 1702 and was in correspondence with the Protestant cleric Richard Baxter. In one letter Tilson described how a woman from Rochester had gone to her father's house in West Malling where she died on 4 June 1691. While on her death bed, at two o'clock in the morning, she appeared as an apparition to a nurse in Rochester, some nine miles away, where her children were being looked after. It had been the dying woman's wish to see her children before she died, but she had been persuaded not to travel because of her ill health. Baxter included this account in his subsequent book The Certainty of the Worlds of the Spirits published in the same year. Tilson died in 1750 and his memorial in St. Peter's AD Vincula Church records a bequest he made to the poor of "£100 in money, the yearly produce to be distributed annually on the feasts of All Saints and the Purification, in wood and wheat" (see inscription in photograph).

Reverend Samuel Bishop (1731–95) was a poet, headmaster of Merchant Taylors' school and rector of Ditton. His posthumously published book entitled Poems (1796) was much admired and several times reprinted. Not everyone was complimentary about Bishop and his verses: "the character of Bishop's countenance is not very intellectual, and there is a timid, and almost mean expression about the mouth. He looks but little qualified to insist upon the discipline necessary to be observed at Merchant Tailor's (sic) school or to wield the weapons of Dr. Busby. However, we suppose, he did both occasionally, besides writing his epigrams, and composing verses to his wife, — "To Mrs Bishop." Of this lady, he sometimes sings more like the tea-kettle than the Nightingale".

Thomas Golding, sheriff of Kent in 1703, was living in the nearby parish of Leybourne when he acquired Ditton Place in 1701. He had been the mortgagee of Thomas Brewer in respect of a number of properties when the latter defaulted. His arms were "argent, a cross voided between four lions passant, guardant gules" (a red hollow cross between four lions lying down with their heads and front paws up, on a white or silver background). He left Ditton Place to his nephew, another Thomas, who seems to have sold it and then repurchased it around 1735.

The surname Golding is synonymous with a variety of hop known as Goldings and, although there has been some uncertainty as to who discovered the hop, evidence has more recently come to light suggesting it was almost certainly John Golding (who died at Ditton place in 1807), the great-nephew of Thomas and the owner of Ditton Place.

Lt. Col. Clifford Sheldon, DSO, was joint managing and senior director of Reeds, the paper manufacturer, and was connected with that firm and its associated companies from 1911 until his death in 1950 at the age of 62 years. He gave his name to the Clifford Sheldon Club House, a converted oast house, which subsequently became the Manor and Greenside Oast.

Edward Humphreys, known as Punter Humphreys, who was born in Ditton in 1881, was an English professional cricketer who played first-class cricket for Kent County Cricket Club between 1899 and 1920. He played nearly 400 first-class matches and coached cricket after his retirement.

Charles Hooman, often known as Chubby Holman, was born in Ditton in 1887. He was an English amateur sportsman who played cricket for Oxford University and Kent County Cricket Club between 1907 and 1910. He won Blues for golf, rackets and cricket and later represented the Great Britain and Ireland golf team in the Walker Cup in 1922 and 1923. He served in the Royal Naval Reserve during World War I and the RAF Volunteer Reserve during World War II.

Barry Hawkins (born 23 April 1979) is an English professional snooker player from Ditton. He turned professional in 1996, rising to prominence in the 2004–05 snooker season, when he reached the last 16 of the 2004 UK Championship, the quarter-finals of the 2004 British Open, and the semi-finals of the 2005 Welsh Open. He has now spent twelve successive seasons ranked inside the top 32. He reached his first ranking final and won his first ranking title at the 2012 Australian Goldfields Open.

### Turnpike

The current A20, which runs through the village, was once a turnpike, probably established between 1780 and 1820 to connect London with Dover. The Turnpike Act of 1744 required that Turnpike trusts set up milestones along these roads. A series of mileposts made in cast-iron appear on the stretch of road between Aylesford and Addington; at Ditton, Larkfield, and Ryarsh. The one at Larkfield is shown on an 1862 Ordnance Survey map, and the Ditton post is shown on a similar map of 1869. Both the Larkfield and Ditton posts are classed as Class II listed buildings.

### Population

In 1663 the population was recorded as 218. The 1831 Topographical Dictionary described Ditton as "a parish in the hundred of Larkfied, lathe of Aylesford ... containing 192 inhabitants." In 1851 the population was 235 and by 1872 the population was 255, with 51 houses in the parish.

### Education

The Ditton Church School was founded in 1853 as a place of education for 70 children, and enlarged in 1887 by the Brassey family for Jubilee of Queen Victoria. A separate infant school opened in 1973.

Ditton Infant School today caters for boys and girls from 4 to 7 years of age and shares its site with Ditton Church of England Junior School. There were 138 children on the infant school roll in 2008, the time of its most recent Ofsted inspection.

Ditton Church of England Junior School is a primary school catering for mixed pupils aged 5–11 and is adjacent to the infant school. In 2008 there were 277 children on the school roll and it was inspected by Ofsted in 2010.

Aylesford School – Sports College is a secondary school situated in Teapot Lane, Aylesford, in modern buildings. Its catchment area is to the western side of Maidstone and includes pupils from Ditton. The school is for mixed gender pupils in years 7 to 11, with the sixth form for those in years 12 and 13. In 2004 the school gained specialist status as a Sports College, with the result that the curriculum now includes an element of sports education of every aspect. In 2010 there were 944 pupils on the school roll, and it was inspected by Ofsted in the same year.

MidKent College (formerly Mid-Kent College of Higher and Further Education) is the nearest further education college to Ditton. Three campuses, situated in Maidstone and Medway, cater for around 15,000 students aged 16+. The courses offered cover many vocational and academic subjects starting with pre-entry level and finishing at degree level.

Ditton Heritage Centre has been established within an old Victorian building in the village to teach children in the style of a Victorian school. The classroom has been fully restored to represent a typical classroom of the Victorian era.

### War Memorial

`Each year a Remembrance Sunday parade takes place, starting in the village at 11am, to commemorate the military personnel who died in World War I (22 names) and World War II (7 names). The parade culminates at the War Memorial, which stands on the eastern side of the junction between the A20 road and New Road. A wreath is laid on the monument by members of local groups and of the parish council.`

The monument was designed by Gilbert Scott, who gifted the land the monument stands on to the village. It records the names of the military personnel who fell in the two world wars. Its design is unique among war memorials in the United Kingdom on account of the roof over the cross. The monument was dedicated and unveiled on 26 September 1920, in a ceremony attended by the Bishop of Rochester and General Archibald Murray. The monument was granted listed building status in 2000 as a result of Ditton Parish Council approaching the War Memorial Society for assistance to repair it.

### Listed buildings in Ditton

- 40, The Stream, Ditton, Kent (Grade II)
- 578 London Road, Ditton, Kent (Grade II)
- Church of St Peter Ad Vincula New Road, Ditton, Kent (Grade II\*)
- Golding Tomb 15 Yards South of Ditton Church (Grade II)
- Golding Tomb 20 Yards South East of the Chancel of Ditton Church (Grade II)
- Stream Cottages 44–48 (Grade II\*)
- Milepost on the A20 London Road, Ditton, Kent
- The Clifford Sheldon Club House, Cobdown Close, Ditton, Kent (Grade II)
- The Old Mill House, 51 The Stream, Ditton, Kent (Grade II)
- War Memorial, 1 New Road, Ditton, Kent (Grade II)

## Geography

This history of Ditton has, in part, been shaped by the availability of natural resources in the area, especially water, soil, and rocks. Its position concerning transport links with London, notably the main roads and railways which tend towards the capital city, has also contributed to the village's development. Nowadays the parish is characterised by industrial units to the north, the middle by residential estates, and the south by fields and woodland.

The parish of Ditton lies in the Medway valley and borders the River Medway to the north and the Weald to the south. The Medway is Kent's principal river and rises near East Grinstead in Sussex, flowing eastwards to Maidstone. After passing Ditton parish, it turns north and cuts through the North Downs at Rochester, joining the estuary of the River Thames as its final tributary near Sheerness. The Medway is some 112 kilometres (70 mi) long.

The availability of water to transport products and raw materials, and as a resource used in the manufacture of paper, was essential to the historical development of paper mills in the area. Bradbourne stream, which meanders through the parish in a south-east to north-west direction, rises in East Malling, crosses under the A20 road and M20 motorway, and joins the river Medway near the Aylesford Newsprint site. Historically the availability of running water was essential to the early settlements that grew up in Kent, and to the establishment of industries in the area; such as providing power to drive the mills which ground grain.

Ditton is situated between the Lower Weald and the Chalk (North) Downs. The parish encompasses the Lower Greensand strata, where a formation of hard sandy limestone known as the Hythe Beds is abundant. From this formation ragstone is obtained. Kentish ragstone was a historically important building material in southeast England. The Romans used ragstone in the construction of London and villas in the south-east. Medieval builders used ragstone to build churches, civic buildings, houses and bridges over local rivers. The predominance of ragstone beds in the locality gave Ditton a legacy of quarrying which continues today.

## Governance

### Chatham and Aylesford Parliamentary Constituency

Ditton is within the parliamentary constituency of Chatham and Aylesford. Since 6 May 2010 the Member of Parliament has been the Conservative party's Tracey Crouch. At the 2010 general election, the Conservatives won by a majority of 6,069 with 46.2% of the vote in the constituency. Labour won 32.3% of the vote, Liberal Democrats 13.3%, the British National Party 3.1% and the United Kingdom Independence Party 3.0%.

### Kent County Council

There are 84 elected councillors on Kent County Council of whom seven represent Tonbridge & Malling residents. The other members represent the remaining 11 councils in Kent. Tonbridge & Malling borough is divided into six county council divisions with each division having one councillor elected to represent it, except for the Tonbridge division which has two councillors. The county council division of Malling Rural North East includes Aylesford, Burham, Ditton and Wouldham.

### Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council

Ditton is a ward in the Tonbridge and Malling local government borough and has two of the 53 seats on the Council. On 7 May 2015 Ditton residents elected Tom Cannon & Ben Walker to represent them on Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council for 4 years.

### Ditton Parish Council

Created in 1894 as a result of legislation requiring each parish to have its own council, the council presently consists of 13 members and is responsible for a variety aspects of parish life: the general upkeep and maintenance of two recreation grounds, the village green, War Memorial, Community Centre, parish allotments, and (in part) the churchyard. The council also funds floodlights to illuminate the church. A magazine, the Ditton Gazette, is published quarterly and is circulated among the households of the parish. In February 2006, the council was awarded Quality Parish Council status.

## Demography

At the 2011 UK census, the Ditton electoral ward had a population of 4,786. The ethnic breakdown was 96% white, 1.2% mixed race, 1.7% Asian, 0.6% black and 0.3% other. The place of birth of residents was 94.8% United Kingdom, 0.4% Republic of Ireland, 1% other 2001 EU member countries, 0.5% later EU accession countries and 3.2% elsewhere. Religion was recorded as 67.5% Christian, 0.3% Buddhist, 0.3% Hindu, 0.1% Sikh and 0.6% Muslim. 24.2% were recorded as having no religion, 0.3% had an alternative religion and 6.7% did not state their religion.

The economic activity of residents aged 16–74 was 43.4% in full-time employment, 15.6% in part-time employment, 9.2% self-employed, 2.5% unemployed, 2.5% students with jobs, 2.7% students without jobs, 16.9% retired, 3.7% looking after home or family, 2.6% permanently sick or disabled and 0.7% economically inactive for other reasons. The main industries for employed residents was 18.5% retail, 11.9% health and social work, 10.4% construction, 8.6% education and 7.9% manufacturing. Compared with national figures, the ward had a relatively high proportion of workers in construction and retail, and a relatively low proportion in hotels and restaurants. Of the ward's residents aged 16–74, 21% had a higher education qualification or the equivalent, compared with 27.4% nationwide.

## Economy

The parish of Ditton contains a number of agricultural, small commercial and industrial businesses, marking a historical shift from a farming-based community to a modern, mixed economy.

The Medway valley has long been associated with papermaking. In February 2015 it was confirmed that the last major paper mill in the parish, Aylesford Newsprint, was to close with the loss of 233 jobs. Ditton's connection with the industry predates 1667, when a paper mill was already established at an ancient settlement known as Coldharbour, which stood at the northern end of the millpond which can still be found - albeit now bisected by the M20 - just to the northeast of Cobdown House. It is very likely that this mill, which by the nineteenth century had become known as Mill Hall Mill, was the earliest paper mill on the lower tributaries of the River Medway. In the modern era, in 1922, Albert E Reed and Company Limited, who already ran two successful paper mills at Tovil, built a large mill on the banks of the River Medway at New Hythe. Reed International became a major paper manufacturer who, at its height, had in the region of 1,500 employees. The business was seriously hampered by the advent of World War II, which caused a shortage of pulp to make newspapers and led to a different material, waste paper, being used in its place. Waste paper was then replaced by recycled fibre, which was fully utilised in the process of producing newsprint. The 60-acre Newsprint plant belonged to SCA, paper manufacturers from Sweden, in partnership with Mondi, and £250 million was invested in developing the site. Aylesford Newsprint was one of the world's leading manufacturers of newsprint, recycling around 500,000 tonnes of material to produce some 400,000 tonnes of final product. Media organisations in Europe, America, and the Far East relied on the recycled newsprint from the plant for their publications. The East Malling Stream, which at one time turned six mills on its short journey to the River Medway, four of them paper mills, was a vital water supply for the processes carried out in the plant.

`At the opposite end of the parish is part of the 580 acre East Malling Research Station. This began in 1913 with 23 acres in response to a need among Kent farmers for assistance with their fruit growing activities. Since fruit was an important part of the Kent economy, the station performed a valuable role is carrying out research experiments and advising farmers on fruit production. The land that forms the research station grounds is conducive to the growing of fruit, with good water retention and drainage properties. The station was also well placed in terms of transport links since the nearby railway connected with London in one direction and the agricultural college at Wye in the other. It was an indication of the importance of the research station that the government and fruit producers were prepared to give financial support for its work. In 1938 the 360-acre Bradbourne House estate was added to the site. As a result of research work carried out on the site, the station established a reputation as a world centre for the research of perennial crops. Horticultural Research International operated the site until 2009 until 1 April 2010, since when the East Malling Trust has owned the research station. The station is fully engaged with local business and contains a lecture hall that can take 200 delegates.`

The Ditton Laboratory, a short distance from the research station, was opened in 1930 by the Empire Marketing Board as a part of Cambridge University's Low-Temperature Research Station. The purpose of the laboratory was to carry out experiments on the shipping of fruit across the high seas, in order to extend its life over long, seaborne journeys. This led to an experiment being carried out to simulate, as far as was possible, conditions on board a cargo ship, the so-called "ship on land" experiment. One focus of research was the Cox's Orange Pippin Apple, which had the reputation of being a problematic fruit to transport over long distances. In 1969 the laboratory was incorporated into the East Malling Research Station as the fruit storage section. After the building was boarded up, a fish farm and fruit distribution business continued at its rear. It has since been demolished and replaced by a modern housing estate.

Quarrying for ragstone is still an important local industry. Gallagher Aggregates Limited operate the Hermitage Quarry, which is situated 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) to the south of Ditton village. About 50 employees work in the quarry and another 60 on subsidiary functions. According to the firm's estimates, there is only enough ragstone left in the quarry for another four years' quarrying, with the result that new sources of production are being sought. Ragstone in an important material the construction industry for roads and buildings.

In 2011 Gallagher Aggregated applied to extend the Hermitage Quarry into Oaken Wood in the parish of Ditton. The planning committee of Kent County Council granted permission for quarrying in part of the woodland, but the decision was referred to the Secretary of State. Planning committee chairman Richard King said that "local residents and environmental groups have argued that the loss of irreplaceable ancient woodland and impact on the local wildlife site is unacceptable. On balance, however, members felt the job prospects and the economic need for ragstone to support construction in the county in future, and benefits of the project outweighed these objections." The application was subsequently approved on appeal by the communities secretary, Eric Pickles, who observed that the economic benefits of being able to produce more ragstone and crushed rock from the site outweighed the loss of the wood.

Ditton is five miles from the centre of the county town of Maidstone, which is an important source of employment in the area.

## Travel links

Many bus services pass through Ditton. There are two main frequent and reliable routes provided by Arriva Southern Counties.

The 71 Arriva service between Snodland and Maidstone Town Centre (via Allington) passes through Ditton every 10 minutes (Monday - Saturday) and every 30 minutes (Sunday). The sister 72 Arriva service between Kings Hill and Maidstone Town Centre also passes through Ditton every 30 minutes (Monday - Saturday).

The 703 Arriva service between Maidstone Town Centre and Bluewater Shopping Centre in Greenhithe, Dartford also passes through Ditton however this is an intermittent service that runs three times a day (Monday - Friday).

The nearest railway stations are at Aylesford and East Malling..

## Ditton Nature Reserve

Since 31 May 2009 Ditton has had an officially recognised nature reserve, Ditton Quarry off Kilnbarn Road. Natural England declared it a Local Nature Reserve after a partnership had been formed between Ditton Parish Council, residents, and Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council.

Many ragstone quarries have been abandoned and backfilled once exhausted. When Ditton Quarry closed down in 1984, quarrying operations had left behind a legacy of a lime-rich soil which formed the foundation of a thriving habitat for plants and wildlife; 140 wildflowers (including five that are rare in Kent), 18 butterfly species, and 50 bird species have been recorded. It is also home to foxes, rabbits, frogs, toads and newts. The quarry is now a Site of Nature Conservation Importance (SNCI). Public access is free.

The quarry is also a prime location for geological research and provides opportunities for field studies in a variety of disciplines: sedimentology, stratigraphy, palaeontology, geography, and industrial archaeology. Several features make this a unique location for the study of rock formations. Visitors can examine the extensively exposed rock faces, primarily Kentish Ragstone and Hassock facies, and study changes in vertical and lateral facies. The facies are glauconitic with some horizons of silicification. Shell debris (ammonites, belemnites, nautiloids, bivalves, etc.) and bioturbation are also present. The quarry could be important for future research via gamma ray profiling of the rock beds in relation to changes in sea level and climate.

## Social and leisure activities

### Open spaces

Ditton has various urban open spaces: the New Road 4-acre (16,000 m<sup>2</sup>) recreation ground was acquired in 1954 and a second one measuring 11 acres (45,000 m<sup>2</sup>) was provided in the early 1970s, just prior to the building of the community centre (see Ditton Community Centre). A further 18 acres (73,000 m<sup>2</sup>) of recreational land was handed to the parish in 1991 following the cessation of quarrying at Ditton Court Quarry (see Ditton Nature Reserve). A small section of the land has been leased to Ditton Bowls Club who, with Sports Council grants and loans from the parish council, has provided a thriving member's club with a well kept green, looked after by parish council staff. The club has recently added a pavilion for use by its members.

### Ditton Parish

Play areas for children and young people:

- Kiln Barn Play & Petanque Area
- Ball Court, Kiln Barn Road

Outdoor Sports Facilities:

- Kilnbarn Recreation Ground
- New Road Recreation Ground
- Ditton Church of England Junior School
- Cobdown Park & Sportsground
- Cobdown Park Bowling Green

Outdoor Sports Facilities continued:

- Ditton Bowls Club
- Cobdown Croquet Lawn
- Cobdown Tennis Courts

Amenity Green Spaces:

- Village Green, New Road

Natural and Semi-Natural Green Spaces:

- Ditton Court Quarry
- Nature Area, Bradbourne Lane

### Ditton Community Centre

In 1973 Ian Lavender (Pte. Pike of "Dads' Army") opened the centre, which was subsequently extended. Providing an important focal point for the local community, the centre has a hall capacity of up to 400 people. Other rooms include a meetings room and a functions room (up to 100 people). Activities throughout the week include: a playgroup & toddler club, keep fit class, badminton, table tennis and indoor bowls on weekdays; discos, dances, roller skating, indoor tennis and craft markets at the weekend. The centre also provides for sporting activities in its grounds: two tennis courts, two football pitches and a cricket pitch. There are showers and changing rooms inside the building. The centre is owned by Ditton Parish Council which holds regular meetings there.

### Cobdown Sports and Social Club

Set in the grounds of Cobdown Park, the Cobdown Sports and Social Club evolved from the former social club for Reeds International, the paper-maker. A new clubhouse was built in 1985 for Reed International Sports and Social Club and in 1989 the club became the Cobdown Sports & Social Club when it was taken over by the club members. Although it remained a members club, with many of the same activities, the club was opened up to the general public, and new activities were added. Sports form an important part of these activities, and the club is an important local centre with a wide range of facilities to cater for groups and organisations, such as schools and businesses. Membership is also open to sports teams that wish to use the club. Facilities include a bar, with snooker and pool tables, a darts board, and a big screen for major sporting events. There is a dedicated function room that is used for social and business events and can accommodate a maximum of 100 people seated.

### Kentish Quarryman

In 2008 the Kentish Quarryman Public House, which was the former Ditton Working Men's Club located on the western side of New Road, was opened. The house took its name from the historic connection of the parish with ragstone quarrying, which is acknowledged by a large slab of ragstone at its front entrance (see photograph).

### World Custard Pie Throwing Championship

In the 1980s, Ditton was home to the World Custard Pie Throwing Championship, after Councillor Mike Fitzgerald, who founded the championships, moved to Ditton from Coxheath, bringing the championships with him. Although the competition died out in 1988, it was revived at Coxheath in 2007, and it has been held there annually since then.


2022 USFL Championship Game

The 2022 USFL Championship Game was an American football game which was played on July 3, 2022, at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio. The contest, which determined the champion of the United States Football League (USFL), featured the winners of the playoff semifinal games: the Philadelphia Stars from the North Division and the Birmingham Stallions from the South Division. It was the inaugural USFL Championship Game and the final game of the 2022 USFL season. The game began at 7:30 p.m. EDT and was broadcast on Fox. Prize money was awarded to players on the winning team in the amount of \$10,000 in addition to their salary.

Both teams traded field goals in the first quarter before Bo Scarbrough scored the game's first touchdown, putting Birmingham ahead by seven points. Philadelphia's Case Cookus completed a pass to Jordan Suell for a touchdown in the second quarter, but the extra point was unsuccessful. The Stallions scored twice more before halftime, with a touchdown pass from J'Mar Smith to Marlon Williams with seven minutes remaining, followed by a Brandon Aubrey field goal as time expired, and Birmingham led 20–9 at the break. The Stars scored the only points of the third quarter, with Cookus passing to Suell for a touchdown, but the two-point conversion failed and the Stallions' lead remained at five points. Philadelphia took the lead with a touchdown early in the fourth quarter, putting them ahead by three. The Stallions responded with an 8-yard touchdown pass, immediately followed by an interception returned for a touchdown with just under three minutes remaining. Philadelphia was able to score once more but threw another interception on their final possession and Birmingham was able to run out the clock. The game finished with Birmingham winning the USFL Championship, 33–30.

## Background

The United States Football League was originally founded in 1982 as a professional spring and summer league. It completed three full seasons, from 1983 to 1985, before folding prior to its 1986 season, which was to be played in the fall, in direct competition with the National Football League (NFL). The direct competition, in addition to a failed antitrust lawsuit against the NFL, led to the league's decline. On June 3, 2021, the new United States Football League, a distinct league from its predecessor, announced that it would begin play with eight teams in spring 2022. The list of eight teams were unveiled on November 22, 2021, all of which shared their name and colors with a team that competed in the original USFL. As part of the USFL's salary structure, each member of the championship team received \$10,000 in addition to their salary.

### Host selection

While the entirety of the 2022 USFL regular season was played in Birmingham, Alabama, the three playoff games were scheduled for Canton, Ohio. The location was announced on February 16, 2022, with the 2022 World Games in Birmingham cited as the reason behind the move.

### USFL Playoff

The two lowest-finishing teams from each division were excluded from participation in the playoffs. From the North Division, the Pittsburgh Maulers were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention on June 3, and the Michigan Panthers were eliminated two days later. In the South Division, the Houston Gamblers were the first team ruled out of the postseason, on May 29, while the Tampa Bay Bandits were eliminated from postseason contention on June 12.

The first semifinal game was held between the North Division first and second place teams, the New Jersey Generals and the Philadelphia Stars. Despite their status as 4.5-point underdogs, the Stars took the lead on a punt return with two minutes remaining and held it for the remainder of the game to win 19–14 and clinch a berth in the championship game. The third meeting between the Generals and Stars during the season, the game was the first win of the series for the Stars. The second semifinal game followed, which was contested by the Birmingham Stallions and the New Orleans Breakers. Each team scored twice within the first two quarters, but Birmingham scored a third touchdown to take a 21–14 lead into halftime; they would not relinquish the lead for the rest of the game, scoring twice more to win 31–17 and clinch the remaining championship game spot. With their playoff semifinal victories, the Stallions entered the USFL Championship Game with a record of 9–1, while the Stars entered with a record of 6–4.

#### Bracket

## Teams

### Birmingham Stallions

The Stallions, led by head coach Skip Holtz, began their season with the league's inaugural game, a four-point victory against the New Jersey Generals, which was simulcast by both NBC and Fox. Their following three games were all against divisional opponents; they defeated the Houston Gamblers by five points, and then defeated the New Orleans Breakers by nine, which was the Breakers' first loss of the year. The Stallions improved to 4–0 with another victory, this against the Tampa Bay Bandits by six points. Birmingham returned to non-divisional play with their fifth game of the season, in which they trailed the Philadelphia Stars entering the third quarter but rallied back to take the lead and win the game. The Stallions stayed unbeaten with a victory over the Michigan Panthers, 33–17, and followed that up with a ten-point victory over the Pittsburgh Maulers, which clinched a playoff berth for Birmingham. The final three regular season games of the schedule were all rematches of divisional games from weeks two through four, starting with a one-point victory over the New Orleans Breakers that clinched the South Division championship. The Stallions suffered their first and only loss of the regular season on June 11, after giving up a safety that led to a two-point loss against the Houston Gamblers. Birmingham rebounded to win their final regular season game, against the Tampa Bay Bandits, by three points, improving their record to 9–1 entering the playoffs.

### Philadelphia Stars

The Stars, led by head coach Bart Andrus, began their season with a contest against the New Orleans Breakers, which they lost by six points. Philadelphia won their first game the following week, when they defeated divisional opponent Pittsburgh, 30–23. To begin the month of May, the Stars lost to the New Jersey Generals by eight points, but rebounded with a one-point win against the Michigan Panthers. The Stars fell to the Stallions by thirteen points as they re-entered non-divisional play, but began a four-game winning streak the following game with a seven-point victory against the Tampa Bay Bandits. The Stars reached above .500 for the first time in the season the following week with a win over the Houston Gamblers by nine points. Philadelphia finished the season with three final divisional games, beginning with a sound defeat of the Michigan Panthers, 46–24. The fourth of four consecutive wins for the Stars came on June 12 against the Maulers, after Philadelphia took the lead with under five minutes remaining in the game. The regular season concluded with a three-point defeat for the Stars against the New Jersey Generals, who extended their winning streak to nine games.

## Game summary

### First half

The game began with Brandon Aubrey's opening kickoff, which was returned by Philadelphia's Maurice Alexander to the Stars' 31-yard-line, where they began their first drive. That drive saw the Stars punt on fourth down after three consecutive incomplete passes by quarterback Case Cookus. The punt from Luis Aguilar was caught by Victor Bolden Jr. at the Birmingham 21-yard-line. The Stallions gained a first down on both of their first two offensive plays; the first was a 12-yard rush by Bo Scarbrough, and the second was a 25-yard pass from J'Mar Smith to Bobby Holly. Smith passed to Marlon Williams for a gain of seven yards several plays later, gaining another first down and putting the Stallions on the Philadelphia 27-yard-line. From there, the offense was only able to gain three additional yards, but scored the game's first points after Aubrey converted a 42-yard field goal to give the Stallions a 3–0 lead. Aubrey's ensuing kickoff was returned by Alexander to the Stars' 34-yard-line, and Philadelphia earned a first down for the first time two plays later with a 9-yard Dexter Williams rush. Immediately afterwards, Cookus passed for 18 and 15 yards to Chris Rowland and Devin Gray, respectively, putting his team in the red zone at the Birmingham 19-yard-line. The Stars got down to the Stallions' 10-yard-line before losing four yards on 3rd & 1, forcing a field goal attempt. The kick was made by Luis Aguilar from a distance of 32 yards, tying the game at three points apiece. Birmingham began their next drive with good field position, after Bolden's kickoff return reached the Philadelphia 48-yard-line. The Stallions faced a 3rd & 7 several plays into the drive before converting with a 9-yard Smith to Williams pass, which was followed up by a 36-yard Scarbrough rush to score the game's first touchdown. Aubrey made the extra point and the Stallions took a 10–3 lead. The Stars took over at their own 35-yard-line but were only able to run two plays before the conclusion of the game's first quarter.

A pass interference penalty on the first play of the second quarter gave the Stars a first down on the Birmingham 48-yard-line. They faced another third down several plays later, which was nullified by a neutral zone infraction penalty which advanced the ball to the Stallions' 37-yard-line. A three-yard gain by Paul Terry followed, but a rush of no gain, an incomplete pass, and a delay of game penalty forced a punt on 4th & 12 that was downed by the coverage team on the Birmingham 1-yard-line. This set the Stars defense up well, which held, forcing a three-and-out just over a minute later after gains of two and six yards on the drive's first two plays. Philadelphia's first play saw Cookus scramble to the Birmingham 26-yard-line but it was called back for a holding penalty to the Stallions' 46-yard-line. The Stars faced 3rd & 16 early in the drive, but converted with a 25-yard pass from Cookus to Jordan Suell. Two plays later, Cookus and Suell connected for another 25-yard pass, this one for a touchdown that narrowed the Stallions' lead to one point. Aguilar's extra point attempt hit the upright, and was no good, keeping the score at 10–9. The Stallions responded quickly, starting with a 19-yard pass from Smith to Bolden and following that up with a 43-yard touchdown pass to Williams, increasing their lead to eight points following Aubrey's extra point. The Stars resumed possession at their own 23-yard-line, and quickly gained first downs with gains of 16 and 19 yards within their first three plays. On 3rd & 7 from the Birmingham 33-yard-line, Cookus was sacked for a loss of 13 yards, forcing a punt on fourth down the next play. Taking over at their 13-yard-line, Scarbrough rushed on each of the drive's first five plays, including for a 69-yard gain on the second play of the drive. The Stallions' offense stalled from there, and Aubrey converted a 28-yard field goal as time expired to go to halftime with a lead of 20–9.

### Second half

The second half began with Birmingham beginning their drive following a kickoff return that reached the Stallions' own 43-yard-line. A rush of six yards on the first play of the drive set Birmingham up well, but they gained only two yards on the next two plays combined and were forced to punt on 4th & 2 at the Stars' 49-yard-line. The punt was fair caught by Alexander at the Philadelphia 6-yard-line, and the Stars gained a first down after facing 3rd & 3 and gaining sixteen yards on a pass from Cookus to Rowland. Two plays later, Cookus passed to Dexter Williams for a gain of 34 yards, putting the Stars on the Birmingham 30-yard-line with a first down. Another pass of 13 yards on the following play moved the Stars into the red zone, though they faced another third down soon thereafter. An encroachment penalty moved the Stars forward five yards and they converted 3rd & 4 with a 4-yard pass on the next play. After two plays without positive yardage, Cookus completed a pass to Suell in the end zone for a 4-yard touchdown, narrowing the Stallions' lead to five points. The Stars elected to attempt a two-point conversion rather than an extra point with the goal of being able to tie the game with a field goal on their next possession, however the attempt, a rush by Dexter Williams, was unsuccessful after Williams was tackled at the 2-yard-line. Birmingham then got the ball back on a kickoff with 5:17 remaining in the third quarter, beginning at their own 23-yard-line. The Stallions gained two first downs in quick succession with an 11-yard pass from Smith to Bolden followed by a roughing the passer penalty two plays later. After Smith threw an incomplete pass on the next play, he left the game due to cramps, forcing backup quarterback Alex McGough to take over for Birmingham. The Stallions then ran four plays, all rushes, and advanced to the Philadelphia 25-yard-line before the end of the third quarter.

The Stallions began the fourth quarter with McGough's first pass attempt of the contest, which was intended for Bolden but fell incomplete. Scarbrough rushed for five yards on the next play but another incomplete pass from McGough forced Birmingham to attempt a 38-yard field goal, which was missed by Aubrey; this gave the Stars possession of the ball from their own 28-yard-line, the spot at which the kick was taken. A roughing the passer penalty and a 9-yard pass from Cookus to Rowland quickly moved Philadelphia into their opponent's territory, and they continued to move the ball with an 11-yard pass from Cookus to Bug Howard. Williams rushed for 14 yards to set the Stars up at the Birmingham 23-yard-line, but Cookus was sacked by Willie Yarbary on the next play for a loss of six yards. A defensive personal foul moved Philadelphia into the red zone soon afterwards, and Cookus found Gray in the end zone for a touchdown two plays later. The Stars attempted a two-point conversion, which was scored by Suell on a reception. This gave Philadelphia a 23–20 lead, their first of the game. Birmingham started their next drive at their own 22-yard-line and moved the ball quickly, with gains of 9, 11, and 15 yards on their first three plays. On first down at the Stars' 43-yard-line, McGough's pass was intercepted by Jordan Moore—the first turnover of the game—and returned to the Stars' 47-yard-line, giving Philadelphia a chance to increase their lead. They were unable to, however, going three-and-out and punting. The last of these three plays saw Cookus sacked by Dondrea Tillman, which injured Cookus (ultimately causing a broken fibula) and saw him exit the game. The Stallions resumed possession at their own 36-yard-line and found themselves in Stars territory in two plays. Later, on first down at the Stars' 26-yard-line, McGough threw a pass to Williams in the end zone which drew a pass interference penalty, placing the ball on the 11-yard-line; the Stallions scored two plays later on a pass from McGough to Bolden. Aubrey missed the extra point wide left, leaving Birmingham's lead at three points. It increased shortly thereafter, though, as Scooby Wright intercepted new Philadelphia quarterback K. J. Costello and return the pass for a touchdown. The Stallions led by ten points following the extra point. Philadelphia got the ball back with just under three minutes to play, at their own 42-yard-line. They reached the Birmingham 22-yard-line before the two-minute warning and scored a touchdown with 1:43 to play, narrowing the lead to three points. In lieu of a traditional onside kick, the Stars opted to try a 4th & 12 from their own 33-yard-line, which would allow them to keep possession of the ball should they convert it. The play was unsuccessful, though, and the Stallions took over. Scarbrough rushed on three plays in a row, gaining a net total of one yard, and Colby Wadman punted, which resulted in a touchback. After a pass for a gain of seven yards, Costello's pass was intercepted by Birmingham's Christian McFarland at the Stars' 43-yard-line, sealing the victory and the championship for Birmingham. They lined up in victory formation and closed out the game, winning 33–30.

### Scoring summary

## Statistics

## Aftermath

Stallions wide receiver Victor Bolden Jr., previously named to the all-USFL team, was named the game's Most Valuable Player. Fox has announced that the league would return in April 2023, featuring the same eight teams that competed during the 2022 season, although in early 2023 the Tampa Bay Bandits were replaced by the Memphis Showboats.

2022 United States Football League championship game

July 2022 sports events in the United States


Leopard shark

The leopard shark (Triakis semifasciata) is a species of houndshark, in the family Triakidae. It is found along the Pacific coast of North America, from the U.S. state of Oregon to Mazatlán in Mexico. Typically measuring 1.2–1.5 m (3.9–4.9 ft) long, this slender-bodied shark is immediately identifiable by the striking pattern of black saddle-like markings and large spots over its back, from which it derives its common name. Large schools of leopard sharks are a common sight in bays and estuaries, swimming over sandy or muddy flats or rock-strewn areas near kelp beds and reefs. They are most common near the coast, in water less than 4 m (13 ft) deep.

Active-swimming predators, groups of leopard sharks often follow the tide onto intertidal mudflats to forage for food, mainly clams, spoon worms, crabs, shrimp, bony fish, and fish eggs. Most leopard sharks tend to remain within a particular area rather than undertaking long movements elsewhere, which has led to genetic divergence between populations of sharks living in different regions. This species is aplacental viviparous, meaning that the young hatch inside the uterus and are nourished by yolk. From March to June, the female gives birth to as many as 37 young after a gestation period of 10–12 months. It is relatively slow-growing and takes many years to mature.

Harmless to humans, the leopard shark is caught by commercial and recreational fisheries for food and the aquarium trade. This species is mostly fished in the waters off California where, after a period of population decline in the 1980s, new fishing regulations in the early 1990s reduced harvesting to sustainable levels. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed this species as of Least Concern, while noting that local stocks may easily become overfished because of the shark's slow growth and limited migratory habits.

## Taxonomy and phylogeny

The first scientific name applied to the leopard shark was Triakis californica, coined by British zoologist John Edward Gray in the 1851 List of the specimens of fish in the collection of the British Museum. However, Gray did not furnish the name with a proper description, rendering it a nomen nudum. In December 1854, American ichthyologist William Orville Ayres gave a lecture describing the species as Mustelus felis, which included the first scientific description of the species. His lecture was reprinted first in The Pacific, a San Francisco newspaper, and then in the journal Proceedings of the California Academy of Natural Sciences. In April 1855, French biologist Charles Frédéric Girard published another description of this species, naming it Triakis semifasciata.

Despite M. felis being the senior synonym, an error in recording the dates of publication resulted in the widespread use of T. semifasciata as the leopard shark's scientific name. As a result of this long-standing error, Triakis semifasciata came to be recognized as the valid name (as a nomen protectum) and Mustelis felis was invalidated (as a nomen oblitum). The specific epithet semifasciata comes from the Latin words semi ("half") and fasciatus ("banded"), describing this shark's dorsal pattern of saddle-like markings. In older literature, this species may be referred to as "tiger shark" or "catshark".

The genus Triakis contains two subgenera, Triakis and Cazon. The leopard shark is placed within the subgenus Triakis along with the banded houndshark (T. (Triakis) scyllium). A 2006 phylogenetic analysis by J. Andrés López and colleagues, based on protein-coding genes, revealed that Triakis and Cazon are in fact not closely related, and additionally that the leopard shark may be the most basal member of its family.

## Distribution and habitat

The leopard shark occurs in the Northeastern Pacific Ocean, from the temperate continental waters of Coos Bay, Oregon to the tropical waters of Mazatlán, Mexico, including the Gulf of California. It favors muddy or sandy flats within enclosed bays and estuaries, and may also be encountered near kelp beds and rocky reefs, or along the open coast. Numbers have been known to gather near discharges of warm effluent from power plants. Leopard sharks generally swim close to the bottom and are most abundant from the intertidal zone to a depth of 4 m (13 ft), though they may be found as deep as 91 m (299 ft). Many leopard sharks, particularly in the north, leave their coastal habitats in winter and return in early spring. A study in Tomales Bay in northern California determined that they depart when the water temperature drops below 10–12 °C (50–54 °F); one tagged shark was found to have swum some 140 km (87 mi) south.

While a few leopard sharks have been documented traveling hundreds of kilometers, most individuals tend to remain in a localized area for much of their lives. This low level of dispersal has led to genetic divergence across its range. Seven discrete gene pools have been identified along the Californian coast between Humboldt Bay and San Diego. Of these, the Humboldt Bay subpopulation is perhaps the most isolated, with the sharks there maturing at a larger size and producing fewer offspring than those from other areas. By contrast, the area around Los Angeles represents a genetic transitional zone between subpopulations whose boundaries are more diffuse. Off Baja California, the leopard sharks on the Pacific side are probably distinct from those in the northern Gulf of California. Although there is equivocal evidence for natal philopatry (returning to one's birthplace to breed) in this species, proximity to established breeding grounds likely contributes to the structuring of these different subpopulations.

## Description

The leopard shark has a moderately stout body, with a short, rounded snout. There are well-developed, triangular flaps of skin in front of the nares. The eyes are large and oval, with a nictitating membrane (a protective third eyelid). The line of the mouth is strongly curved. There are furrows at the corners of the mouth extending onto both jaws, with those on the lower jaw almost long enough to meet at the midline. The tooth rows number 41–55 in the upper jaw and 34–45 in the lower jaw; each tooth has a slightly oblique, smooth-edged cusp in the center and 1–2 small cusplets on either side. These teeth are arranged into a flat, "pavement"-like surface with overlapping ridges.

The large first dorsal fin is positioned about halfway between the pectoral and pelvic fins; the second is almost as large as the first and much larger than the anal fin. The pectoral fins are wide and triangular. The lower lobe of the caudal fin is well-developed in adults but less than half the length of the upper lobe, which has a strong ventral notch near the tip. The coloration is unique, consisting of prominent black "saddles" and large black spots running along the back, on a silvery to bronzy gray background. Adult sharks often have more spots and saddles with lighter centers compared to juveniles. The underside is whitish and plain. The average length of a leopard shark is 1.2–1.5 m (3.9–4.9 ft). Rarely males may grow to 1.5 m (4.9 ft) and females 1.8 m (5.9 ft), and there is a record of an exceptional female that measured 2.1 m (6.9 ft) long. The heaviest known leopard shark weighed 18.4 kg (41 lb).

## Biology and ecology

An active species that swims with a strong undulating motion, the leopard shark is commonly spotted cruising in or just beyond the surf zone. It is more active at night than during the day, and sometimes lies still on the bottom. In Tomales Bay (among other similar regions), the leopard shark follows the tide onto mudflats to forage for food, retreating just fast enough to prevent being stranded or trapped as the water recedes. At Santa Catalina Island, resident sharks spend the day together in the shallows and at night, they disperse into deeper water, up to 10 km (6.2 mi) away.

From birth, leopard sharks form large schools, generally segregated by age and sex; these groups may intermingle with grey or brown smoothhounds (Mustelus californicus and M. henlei) and spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias). These schools are apparently nomadic, often appearing suddenly in an area for a few hours before vanishing just as quickly. In captivity, larger sharks have been observed establishing their dominance over smaller individuals via light nips to the pectoral fins. During summer days, large aggregations of mature females assemble in shallow bays and estuaries, dispersing at night. As these females follow the warmest patches of water (allowing them to raise their internal body temperatures by up to 3 °C/5.4 °F), they are speculated to be taking advantage of the heat to speed their own growth and that of their gestating young. The membership of these aggregations is inconstant, with individual females periodically switching between different sites scattered over several kilometers.

Compared to the related grey and brown smoothhounds that share its range, the leopard shark has smaller and more numerous red blood cells, allowing it to process oxygen more efficiently. This may be an adaptation for foraging in deoxygenated estuarine environments. Their eyes contain very few cone cells, likely due to the murky water they inhabit. Small leopard sharks fall prey to larger sharks such as the great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) and the broadnose sevengill shark (Notorynchus cepedianus). On one occasion, a sevengill shark was seen ambushing a leopard shark on a tidal mudflat in Humboldt Bay, striking with such momentum that the larger predator momentarily beached itself. Known parasites of this species include the tapeworms Phyllobothrium riseri, Lacistorhynchus dollfusi and Paraorygmatobothrium barber, as well as the copepods Echthrogaleus eoleoptratus and Achtheinus oblongatus.

### Feeding

The diet of the leopard shark consists of small benthic and littoral animals, most significantly crabs (Cancridae, Grapsidae, and Hippoidea), shrimp, bony fish (including anchovies, herring, topsmelt, croakers, surfperch, gobies, rockfish, sculpins, flatfish, and midshipmen), fish eggs, clams, and the echiurid fat innkeeper worm (Urechis caupo). This opportunistic hunter has also been known to eat ghost shrimp, polychaete worms, and the young of smoothhounds, shovelnose guitarfish (Rhinobatos productus), and bat rays (Myliobatis californicus). Eelgrass (Zostera) and algae may be swallowed incidentally.

The leopard shark captures prey by expanding its buccal cavity to create a suction force, which is facilitated by its labial cartilages swinging forward to form the mouth into a tube. Simultaneously, the shark protrudes its jaws forward to grip the prey between its teeth. As with other sharks, the teeth of the leopard shark are periodically shed and replaced; it takes 9–12 days for a replacement tooth to move into position. Leopard sharks have been caught with stomachs filled with clam siphons, which the sharks seize before the clams can retract and break off with a levering motion of their bodies. On occasion, the shark tears the entire clam body out of its shell this way. Other sharks examined have had stomachs containing whole innkeeper worms with no bite marks, suggesting that the sharks sucked them out of their burrows. Under a hollow bridge support in San Francisco Bay, a group of leopard sharks and spiny dogfish have been observed feeding on a dense school of anchovies by slowly swimming counterclockwise through the clockwise-swimming school, and swallowing any anchovies that accidentally entered their open mouths.

In some places, this species feeds only on a few prey types and little else (e.g. innkeeper worms and cancrid crabs in Tomales Bay, jack silverside (Atherinopsis californiensis) eggs and the crabs Romaleon antennarium and Metacarcinus magister in Humboldt Bay). The predominant prey taken depends on location, time of year, and age. For example, in the Elkhorn Slough at Monterey Bay, cancrid crabs and innkeeper worms are mostly eaten in winter and spring, fish eggs from winter to early summer, bony fish in summer, and grapsid crabs and clams in fall. Young sharks feed mostly on crabs and transition to clam siphons, fish eggs, and innkeeper worms once they reach 70–80 cm (2.3–2.6 ft) long. The largest sharks are the ones that consume the most fish.

### Life history

The leopard shark is aplacental viviparous, with the developing embryos sustained by a yolk sac until birth. In northern areas, females use bays and sloughs as nursery areas, while to the south they give birth in more open areas. Known breeding grounds along the coast of California include Humboldt Bay, Tomales Bay, Bodega Bay, San Francisco Bay, Elkhorn Slough, Morro Bay, Santa Monica Bay (Los Angeles), Catalina Harbor (Santa Catalina Island), and San Diego Bay.

Females give birth to 1–37 young annually from March and July (most in April or May), with the number of pups increasing with female size. Multiple males may father a litter from a single mother In Humboldt and San Francisco Bays, females drop their pups in beds of eelgrass that provide both shelter and food. In Catalina Harbor, females give birth on flats in 1 m (3.3 ft) of water, their backs and dorsal fins exposed; the pups stay in even shallower water less than 30 cm (12 in) deep. Mating occurs in early summer following birth; the only known observation of this in the wild was in 2004 off La Jolla, amongst nine sharks gathered 19 m (62 ft) from shore in water 0.3–3 m (0.98–9.84 ft) deep.

Newborn leopard sharks measure around 20 cm (7.9 in) long. Relatively slow-growing after the first 3–4 years of life, male leopard sharks grow an average of 2.0 cm (0.79 in) per year, reaching maturity at an age of 7–13 years and a length of 0.7–1.2 m (2.3–3.9 ft), while females grow an average of 2.3 cm (0.91 in) per year, reaching maturity at an age of 10–15 years and a length of 1.1–1.3 m (3.6–4.3 ft). Individuals of the same age can vary significantly in size and large sharks are especially slow-growing: one specimen was documented to have gained only 4 cm (1.6 in) in length over 12 years. The maximum lifespan of this species is estimated to be 30 years.

## Human interactions

Wary and quick to flee, leopard sharks pose almost no danger to humans. There is a single record from 1955 of a leopard shark harassing a skin diver with a nosebleed, though no injuries resulted. This species is caught by commercial fisheries using gillnets and longlines, and by recreational anglers and spearfishers; it is also caught as bycatch in bottom trawls. The meat is considered excellent eating and is sold fresh or frozen. However, leopard sharks living alongside human development may accumulate pollutants such as mercury, pesticides, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) within their bodies, and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife warns against eating them regularly. The leopard shark is prized by the aquarium trade for its attractive appearance and hardiness; this led to many newborn pups being captured with hook-and-line off southern California in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It may live for over 20 years in captivity.

Most of the fishing for leopard sharks occurs in the waters off California, where commercial landings peaked at 45,953 kg (101,309 lb) in 1983 and has averaged 14,060 kg (31,000 lb) annually since 1991. These figures are believed to be underestimates, as an unknown portion of the leopard shark catch is recorded simply as "shark". In recent decades the number of sharks taken recreationally has exceeded those taken commercially, with sport fishers catching an average of 52,000 sharks per year from 1980–1988, and 45,000 sharks per year since 1993. This species contributes negligibly to fishery landings off Oregon. The status of leopard sharks off Mexico is uncertain, although Mexican shark fisheries tend to focus more on larger species.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has assessed the leopard shark as of Least Concern. It is highly susceptible to local depletion due to its slow growth rate and low level of exchange between regional stocks. It was considered for, but is not managed under, the U.S. Pacific Fishery Management Council's (PMC) 1982 Groundfish Management Plan. In 1992, the State of California imposed a recreational minimum size limit of 91 cm (36 in) and a possession limit of three fish, a move that was strongly supported and promoted by the sport fishing community. In 1993, the State also instituted a minimum size limit of 46 cm (18 in) for the commercial harvesting of all sharks and rays, including for the aquarium trade. In addition, Californian restrictions on the use of certain types of fishing gear in near-shore waters confer good protection to this shark's core population. These management measures seem to have successfully reduced fishing mortality and halted the population decline from the 1980s; the status of the leopard shark off California is regarded as secure, with demographic models estimating an annual population increase of 3–6% with sustainable fishing.

## See also

- List of sharks

Species of shark


Rokeby Venus

The Rokeby Venus (/ˈroʊkbi/ ROHK-bee; also known as The Toilet of Venus, Venus at her Mirror, Venus and Cupid; Spanish: La Venus del espejo) is a painting by Diego Velázquez, the leading artist of the Spanish Golden Age. Completed between 1647 and 1651, and probably painted during the artist's visit to Italy, the work depicts the goddess Venus in a sensual pose, lying on a bed and looking into a mirror held by the Roman god of physical love, her son Cupid. The painting is in the National Gallery, London.

Numerous works, from the ancient to the baroque, have been cited as sources of inspiration for Velázquez. The nude Venuses of the Italian painters, such as Giorgione's Sleeping Venus (c. 1510) and Titian's Venus of Urbino (1538), were the main precedents. In this work, Velázquez combined two established poses for Venus: recumbent on a couch or a bed, and gazing at a mirror. She is often described as looking at herself in the mirror, although this is physically impossible since viewers can see her face reflected in their direction. This phenomenon is known as the Venus effect. In a number of ways the painting represents a pictorial departure, through its central use of a mirror, and because it shows the body of Venus turned away from the observer of the painting.

The Rokeby Venus is the only surviving female nude by Velázquez. Nudes were extremely rare in seventeenth-century Spanish art, which was policed actively by members of the Spanish Inquisition. Despite this, nudes by foreign artists were keenly collected by the court circle, and this painting was hung in the houses of Spanish courtiers until 1813, when it was brought to England to hang in Rokeby Park, Yorkshire. In 1906, the painting was purchased by National Art Collections Fund for the National Gallery, London. Although it was attacked and badly damaged in 1914 by the suffragette Mary Richardson, it soon was fully restored and returned to display.

## Painting

### Description

The Rokeby Venus depicts the Roman goddess of love, beauty and fertility reclining languidly on her bed, her back to the viewer—in Antiquity, portrayal of Venus from a back view was a common visual and literary erotic motif—and her knees tucked. She is shown without the mythological paraphernalia normally included in depictions of the scene; jewellery, roses, and myrtle are all absent. Unlike most earlier portrayals of the goddess, which show her with blond hair, Velázquez's Venus is a brunette. The female figure can be identified as Venus because of the presence of her son, Cupid.

Venus gazes into a mirror held by Cupid, who is without his usual bow and arrows. When the work was first inventoried, it was described as "a nude woman", probably owing to its controversial nature. Venus looks outward at the viewer of the painting through her reflected image in the mirror. However, the image is blurred and reveals only a vague reflection of her facial characteristics; the reflected image of the head is much larger than it would be in reality. The critic Natasha Wallace has speculated that Venus's indistinct face may be the key to the underlying meaning of the painting, in that "it is not intended as a specific female nude, nor even as a portrayal of Venus, but as an image of self-absorbed beauty." According to Wallace, "There is nothing spiritual about face or picture. The classical setting is an excuse for a very material aesthetic sexuality—not sex, as such, but an appreciation of the beauty that accompanies attraction."

Intertwining pink silk ribbons are draped over the mirror and curl over its frame. The ribbon's function has been the subject of much debate by art historians; suggestions include an allusion to the fetters used by Cupid to bind lovers, that it was used to hang the mirror, and that it was used to blindfold Venus moments before. The critic Julián Gallego found Cupid's facial expression to be so melancholy that he interprets the ribbons as fetters binding the god to the image of Beauty, and gave the painting the title "Amor conquered by Beauty".

The folds of the bed sheets echo the goddess's physical form, and are rendered to emphasise the sweeping curves of her body. The composition mainly uses shades of red, white, and grey, which are used even in Venus's skin; although the effect of this simple colour scheme has been much praised, recent technical analysis has shown that the grey sheet was originally a "deep mauve", that has now faded. The luminescent colours used in Venus's skin, applied with "smooth, creamy, blended handling", contrast with the dark greys and black of the silk she is lying on, and with the brown of the wall behind her face.

The Rokeby Venus is the only surviving nude by Velázquez, but three others by the artist are recorded in 17th-century Spanish inventories. Two were mentioned in the Royal collection, but may have been lost in the 1734 fire that destroyed the main Royal Palace of Madrid. A further one was recorded in the collection of Domingo Guerra Coronel. These records mention "a reclining Venus", Venus and Adonis, and a Psyche and Cupid.

Although the work is widely thought to have been painted from life, the identity of the model is subject to much speculation. In contemporary Spain it was acceptable for artists to employ male nude models for studies; however, the use of female nude models was frowned upon. The painting is believed to have been executed during one of Velázquez's visits to Rome, and Prater has observed that in Rome the artist "did indeed lead a life of considerable personal liberty that would have been consistent with the notion of using a live nude female model". It has been claimed that the painting depicts a mistress Velázquez is known to have had while in Italy, who is supposed to have borne his child. Others have claimed that the model is the same as in Coronation of the Virgin and Las Hilanderas, both in the Museo del Prado, and other works.

The figures of both Venus and Cupid were significantly altered during the painting process, the result of the artist's corrections to the contours as initially painted. Pentimenti can be seen in Venus's upraised arm, in the position of her left shoulder, and on her head. Infra-red reveals that she was originally shown more upright with her head turned to the left. An area on the left of the painting, extending from Venus's left foot to the left leg and foot of Cupid, is apparently unfinished, but this feature is seen in many other works by Velázquez and was probably deliberate. The painting was given a major cleaning and restoration in 1965–66, which showed it to be in good condition, and with very little paint added later by other artists, contrary to what some earlier writers had asserted.

## Nudes in 17th-century Spain

The portrayal of nudes was officially discouraged in 17th-century Spain. Works could be seized or repainting demanded by the Inquisition, and artists who painted licentious or immoral works were often excommunicated, fined, or banished from Spain for a year. However, within intellectual and aristocratic circles, the aims of art were believed to supersede questions of morality, and there were many, generally mythological, nudes in private collections.

Velázquez's patron, the art-loving King Philip IV, held a number of nudes by Titian and Rubens, and Velázquez, as the king's painter, need not have feared painting such a picture. Leading collectors, including the King, tended to keep nudes, many mythological, in relatively private rooms; in Phillip's case "the room where His Majesty retires after eating", which contained the Titian poesies he had inherited from Phillip II, and the Rubens he had commissioned himself. The Venus would be in such a room while in the collections of both Haro and Godoy. The court of Philip IV greatly "appreciated painting in general, and the nude in particular, but ... at the same time, exerted unparalleled pressure on artists to avoid the depiction of the naked human body."

The contemporary Spanish attitude toward paintings of nudes was unique in Europe. Although such works were appreciated by some connoisseurs and intellectuals within Spain, they were generally treated with suspicion. Low necklines were commonly worn by women during the period, but according to the art historian Zahira Veliz, "the codes of pictorial decorum would not easily permit a known lady to be painted in this way". For Spaniards of the 17th century, the issue of the nude in art was tied up with concepts of morality, power, and aesthetics. This attitude is reflected in the literature of the Spanish Golden Age, in works such as Lope de Vega's play La quinta de Florencia, which features an aristocrat who commits rape after viewing a scantily clad figure in a mythological painting by Michelangelo.

In 1632, an anonymous pamphlet—attributed to the Portuguese Francisco de Braganza—was published with the title "A copy of the opinions and censorship by the most revered fathers, masters and senior professors of the distinguished universities of Salamanca and Alcalá, and other scholars on the abuse of lascivious and indecent figures and paintings, which are mortal sin to be painted, carved and displayed where they can be seen".

The court was able to exert counter-pressure, and a piece by the famous poet and preacher Fray Hortensio Félix Paravicino, which proposed the destruction of all paintings of the nude, and was written to be included in the pamphlet, was never published. Paravicino was a connoisseur of painting, and therefore believed in its power: "the finest paintings are the greatest threat: burn the best of them". As his title shows, Braganza merely argued that such works should be kept from the view of a wider public, as was in fact mostly the practice in Spain.

In contrast, French art of the period often depicted women with low necklines and slender corsets; however, the mutilation by the French royal family of the Correggio depiction of Leda and the Swan and their apparent destruction of the famous Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo paintings of the same subject, show that nudity could be controversial in France also. In northern Europe it was seen as acceptable to portray artfully draped nudes. Examples include Rubens's Minerva Victrix, of 1622–25, which shows Marie de' Medici with an uncovered breast, and Anthony van Dyck's 1620 painting, The Duke and Duchess of Buckingham as Venus and Adonis.

In 17th-century Spanish art, even in the depiction of sibyls, nymphs, and goddesses, the female form was always chastely covered. No painting from the 1630s or 1640s, whether in the genre, portrait, or history format, shows a Spanish female with her breasts exposed; even uncovered arms were only rarely shown. In 1997, the art historian Peter Cherry suggested that Velázquez sought to overcome the contemporary requirement for modesty by portraying Venus from the back. Even in the mid-18th century, an English artist who made a drawing of the Venus when it was in the collection of the Dukes of Alba noted it was "not hung up, owing to the subject".

Another attitude to the issue was shown by Morritt, who wrote to Sir Walter Scott of his "fine painting of Venus' backside", which he hung above his main fireplace, so that "the ladies may avert their downcast eyes without difficulty and connoisseurs steal a glance without drawing the said posterior into the company".

## Provenance

The Rokeby Venus was long held to be one of Velázquez's final works. In 1951, it was found recorded in an inventory of 1 June 1651 from the collection of Gaspar Méndez de Haro, 7th Marquis of Carpio, a close associate of Philip IV of Spain. Haro was the great-nephew of Velázquez's first patron, the Count-Duke of Olivares, and a notorious libertine. According to the art historian Dawson Carr, Haro "loved paintings almost as much as he loved women", and "even his panegyrists lamented his excessive taste for lower-class women during his youth". For these reasons it seemed likely that he would have commissioned the painting. However, in 2001 the art historian Ángel Aterido discovered that the painting had first belonged to the Madrid art dealer and painter Domingo Guerra Coronel, and was sold to Haro in 1652 following Coronel's death the previous year. Coronel's ownership of the painting raises a number of questions: how and when it came into Coronel's possession, and why Velázquez's name was omitted from Coronel's inventory. The art critic Javier Portús has suggested that the omission may have been due to the painting's portrayal of a female nude, "a type of work which was carefully supervised and whose dissemination was considered problematic".

These revelations make the painting difficult to date. Velázquez's painting technique offers no assistance, although its strong emphasis on colour and tone suggest that the work dates from his mature period. The best estimates of its origin put its completion in the late 1640s or early 1650s, either in Spain or during Velázquez's last visit to Italy. If this is the case, then the breadth of handling and the dissolution of form can be seen to mark the beginning of the artist's final period. The conscientious modelling and strong tonal contrasts of his earlier work are here replaced by a restraint and subtlety which would culminate in his late masterpiece, Las Meninas.

The painting passed from Haro into the collection of his daughter Catalina de Haro y Guzmán, the eighth Marchioness of Carpio, and her husband, Francisco Álvarez de Toledo, the tenth Duke of Alba. In 1802, Charles IV of Spain ordered the family to sell the painting (with other works) to Manuel de Godoy, his favourite and chief minister. He hung it alongside two masterpieces by Francisco Goya that he may have commissioned himself, The Nude Maja and The Clothed Maja. These bear obvious compositional similarities with Velázquez's Venus, although unlike Velázquez, Goya clearly painted his nude in a calculated attempt to provoke shame and disgust in the relatively unenlightened climate of 18th-century Spain. The painting disappeared from the Godoy palace during the Napoleonic invasion of Spain, and passed through the hands of George Augustus Wallis, a British painter, who worked in Spain as an agent for William Buchanan, a major art dealer, who brought it to England in 1813.

In October 1813 Buchanan had offered shares in a package of twenty-four top paintings from Spanish collections to wealthy English collectors, who would be able to either buy them themselves, or share in the profits from sales to others in London. The Venus was one of them. This arrangement was similar to that by which the cream of the Orleans Collection had been brought to London some years earlier.

In England it was purchased by John Morritt for £500 (£  in 2023), and on the advice of his friend Sir Thomas Lawrence. Morritt hung it in his house at Rokeby Park, Yorkshire—thus the painting's popular name. In 1906, the painting was acquired for the National Gallery by the newly created National Art Collections Fund, its first campaigning triumph. King Edward VII greatly admired the painting, and anonymously provided £8,000 (£  in 2023) towards its purchase, and became Patron of the Fund thereafter.

## Legacy

In part because he was overlooked until the mid-19th century, Velázquez found no followers and was not widely imitated. In particular, his visual and structural innovations in this portrayal of Venus were not developed by other artists until recently, largely owing to the censorship of the work. The painting remained in a series of private rooms in private collections until it was exhibited in 1857 at the Manchester Art Treasures Exhibition, along with 25 other paintings at least claimed to be by Velázquez; it was here that it became known as the Rokeby Venus. It does not appear to have been copied by other artists, engraved or otherwise reproduced, until this period. In 1890 it was exhibited in the Royal Academy in London, and in 1905 at Messrs. Agnews, the dealers who had bought it from Morritt. From 1906 it was highly visible in the National Gallery and became well-known globally through reproductions. The general influence of the painting was therefore long delayed, although individual artists would have been able to see it on occasion throughout its history.

The painting was not universally accepted as Velázquez's work on its reintroduction to the public. The artist William Blake Richmond, in a lecture at the Royal Academy in 1910 claimed that "two pigments used in the picture did not exist in the time of Velasquez." The critic, James Grieg hypothesised that it was by Anton Raphael Mengs—although he found little support for his idea—and there was more serious discussion about the possibility of Velázquez's son-in-law and pupil, Juan del Mazo as the artist.

Velázquez's portrait is a staging of a private moment of intimacy and a dramatic departure from the classical depictions of sleep and intimacy found in works from antiquity and Venetian art that portray Venus. However, the simplicity with which Velázquez displays the female nude—without jewellery or any of the goddess's usual accessories—was echoed in later nude studies by Ingres, Manet, and Baudry, among others. In addition, Velázquez's depiction of Venus as a reclining nude viewed from the rear was a rarity before that time, although the pose has been painted by many later artists. Manet, in his stark female portrayal Olympia, paraphrased the Rokeby Venus in pose and by suggesting the persona of a real woman rather than an ethereal goddess. Olympia shocked the Parisian art world when it was first exhibited in 1863.

## Vandalism, 1914

On 10 March 1914, the suffragette Mary Richardson walked into the National Gallery and attacked Velázquez's canvas with a meat cleaver. Her action was ostensibly provoked by the arrest of fellow suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst the previous day, although there had been earlier warnings of a planned suffragette attack on the collection. Richardson left seven slashes on the painting, particularly causing damage to the area between the figure's shoulders. However, all were successfully repaired by the National Gallery's chief restorer Helmut Ruhemann.

Richardson was sentenced to six months' imprisonment, the maximum allowed for destruction of an artwork. In a statement to the Women's Social and Political Union shortly afterwards, Richardson explained, "I have tried to destroy the picture of the most beautiful woman in mythological history as a protest against the Government for destroying Mrs. Pankhurst, who is the most beautiful character in modern history." She added in a 1952 interview that she did not like "the way men visitors gaped at it all day long".

The feminist writer Lynda Nead observed, "The incident has come to symbolize a particular perception of feminist attitudes towards the female nude; in a sense, it has come to represent a specific stereotypical image of feminism more generally." Contemporary reports of the incident reveal that the picture was not widely seen as mere artwork. Journalists tended to assess the attack in terms of a murder (Richardson was nicknamed "Slasher Mary"), and used words that conjured wounds inflicted on an actual female body, rather than on a pictorial representation of a female body. The Times described a "cruel wound in the neck", as well as incisions to the shoulders and back.

## See also

- List of works by Diego Velázquez

Painting by Diego Velázquez

Collections of the National Gallery, London

Mythological paintings by Diego Velázquez

Vandalized works of art in the United Kingdom