The Twickenham Museum
For children

Francis Turner Palgrave
Author, poet and anthologist
1824 - 1897

Francis Turner Palgrave

Teacher in Whitton

Palgrave first came to Twickenham in 1850 when he was made vice principal of the training school for teachers of delinquent and pauper children at Kneller Hall, Whitton. The training school did not last long and was closed down in 1856.

Friend of Tennyson

While he worked at Kneller Hall Palgrave became friends with the poet Tennyson who lived in Montpelier Row. Palgrave often went to visit him there.

Palgrave wrote about poetry and wrote poetry himself but he is mainly remembered for his Golden Treasury of Lyrical Songs and Verse (1861).This was a collection of what Palgrave felt were the best English poems. The book is still popular today.

Professor of Poetry
Palgrave went on to become professor of poetry at Oxford University. He and Tennyson remained friends for the rest of their lives.

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