Robert Aagaard
Encyclopedia
Robert Aagaard OBE
JP
(27 June 1932 – 1 April 2001) was an English
furniture maker and conservator, magistrate
, and founder of the youth movement Cathedral Camps.
Brooke), Aagaard was born at Norwich
in 1932, after his father's family had migrated from Denmark
at the time of the rise of Fascism
in Germany
. He was educated at the junior and senior schools of Gresham's School
, Holt
, from 1941 to 1949, where he was a member of Farfield
. His exact contemporaries at Farfield included Martin Burgess
, later a master clockmaker
.
, Aagaard worked at Woolworth's
, a company of which his father was a director. However, his love of antique furniture led him to train as a furniture maker, in the Cotswolds
and at Harrogate
, Yorkshire
. At Harrogate he had his own showrooms and an operated a factory at Knaresborough
which made period fireplaces and decorations needed by conservation schemes, with thirty employees.
Aagaard was Managing Director of Robert Aagaard Ltd (Antiques), from 1960 to 1980, and the company's consultant, 1980 to 1995; a Director of Aagaard-Hanley Ltd, Fibrous Plasterers, 1970 to 1980, and Consultant, 1980 until his death; Consultant, Robert Aagaard & Co., Period Chimneypieces and Marble Processing, from 1995. He acted as a specialist consultant to the National Trust
, supervising important projects in England
and Scotland
, and as Secretary of the Harrogate Antiques Fair.
He became a Justice of the Peace
for North Yorkshire
, serving as a magistrate on the Harrogate bench for twenty years.
The beginning of the movement came when the Dean of Ripon Cathedral asked Aagaard to organise on a voluntary basis the restoration of a house the cathedral owned. While this work was in hand, he visited his son who was staying at a National Trust Acorn Camp and realised that cathedrals could also harness the enthusiasm of young people, training them as volunteer labour and giving them in return an interesting working holiday. In the early 1980s, the Aagaards raised funds and found trustees, including architects, artists, and deans of cathedrals. Establishing a supply of suitable tools and conservation materials, insurance, accommodation, and transport all needed careful planning. In the twenty years during which Aagaard headed the organization, Cathedral Camps enabled some nine thousand students to spend time working and living in cathedrals. Camps were organized every year at twenty-four centres, mostly English cathedrals, but also some larger parish churches and some Church of Scotland
, free church and Roman Catholic places of worship.
at Knaresborough
and from 1995 a member of the General Synod of the Church of England
. He was Chairman of the Ripon Diocesan Advisory Committee and a member of the Ripon Cathedral
Fabric Advisory Committee from 1993, a member of the Bradford Cathedral
Fabric Advisory Committee from 1997, of the Cathedrals' Fabric Commission for England, from 1995, and of the Ripon Diocese Redundant Churches Uses Committee, from 1984.
In Who's Who
, he gave his recreations as "Gardening, walking" and his address in the year of his death as Manor House, High Birstwith, Harrogate
, North Yorkshire
.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
JP
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
(27 June 1932 – 1 April 2001) was an English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
furniture maker and conservator, magistrate
Magistrate
A magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...
, and founder of the youth movement Cathedral Camps.
Early life
The son of Villien Valdemar Aagaard and Florence Aagard (néeNEE
NEE is a political protest group whose goal was to provide an alternative for voters who are unhappy with all political parties at hand in Belgium, where voting is compulsory.The NEE party was founded in 2005 in Antwerp...
Brooke), Aagaard was born at Norwich
Norwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
in 1932, after his father's family had migrated from Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
at the time of the rise of Fascism
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. He was educated at the junior and senior schools of Gresham's School
Gresham's School
Gresham’s School is an independent coeducational boarding school in Holt in North Norfolk, England, a member of the HMC.The school was founded in 1555 by Sir John Gresham as a free grammar school for forty boys, following King Henry VIII's dissolution of the Augustinian priory at Beeston Regis...
, Holt
Holt, Norfolk
Holt is a market town and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The town is north of the city of Norwich, west of Cromer and east of King's Lynn. The town is on the route of the A148 King's Lynn to Cromer road. The nearest railway station is in the town of Sheringham where access to the...
, from 1941 to 1949, where he was a member of Farfield
Farfield
Farfield is one of the seven boarding houses at Gresham's, an English public school at Holt, Norfolk. It was opened in 1911, as part of a surge of renewal and expansion at Gresham's led by George Howson, and the first housemaster and boys were transferred there from a smaller house called Bengal...
. His exact contemporaries at Farfield included Martin Burgess
Martin Burgess
Edward Martin Burgess FSA FBHI, born 21 November 1931, known as Martin Burgess, is an English horologist and master clockmaker.-Early life:Burgess was educated at Gresham's School, Holt, between 1944 and 1949, where he was a member of Farfield...
, later a master clockmaker
Clockmaker
A clockmaker is an artisan who makes and repairs clocks. Since almost all clocks are now factory-made, most modern clockmakers only repair clocks. Modern clockmakers may be employed by jewellers, antique shops, and places devoted strictly to repairing clocks and watches...
.
Career
After National ServiceNational service
National service is a common name for mandatory government service programmes . The term became common British usage during and for some years following the Second World War. Many young people spent one or more years in such programmes...
, Aagaard worked at Woolworth's
Woolworths Group
Woolworths Group plc was a listed British company that owned the high-street retail chain, Woolworths, as well as other brands such as the entertainment distributor Entertainment UK and book and resource distributor Bertram Books...
, a company of which his father was a director. However, his love of antique furniture led him to train as a furniture maker, in the Cotswolds
Cotswolds
The Cotswolds are a range of hills in west-central England, sometimes called the Heart of England, an area across and long. The area has been designated as the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty...
and at Harrogate
Harrogate
Harrogate is a spa town in North Yorkshire, England. The town is a tourist destination and its visitor attractions include its spa waters, RHS Harlow Carr gardens, and Betty's Tea Rooms. From the town one can explore the nearby Yorkshire Dales national park. Harrogate originated in the 17th...
, Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
. At Harrogate he had his own showrooms and an operated a factory at Knaresborough
Knaresborough
Knaresborough is an old and historic market town, spa town and civil parish in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, located on the River Nidd, four miles east of the centre of Harrogate.-History:...
which made period fireplaces and decorations needed by conservation schemes, with thirty employees.
Aagaard was Managing Director of Robert Aagaard Ltd (Antiques), from 1960 to 1980, and the company's consultant, 1980 to 1995; a Director of Aagaard-Hanley Ltd, Fibrous Plasterers, 1970 to 1980, and Consultant, 1980 until his death; Consultant, Robert Aagaard & Co., Period Chimneypieces and Marble Processing, from 1995. He acted as a specialist consultant to the National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
, supervising important projects in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, and as Secretary of the Harrogate Antiques Fair.
He became a Justice of the Peace
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
for North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...
, serving as a magistrate on the Harrogate bench for twenty years.
Cathedral Camps
With his wife, Fiona, Aagaard was the founded Cathedral Camps in 1980 and served as its Chairman until his death. This is a youth movement recognised as a residential section of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award.The beginning of the movement came when the Dean of Ripon Cathedral asked Aagaard to organise on a voluntary basis the restoration of a house the cathedral owned. While this work was in hand, he visited his son who was staying at a National Trust Acorn Camp and realised that cathedrals could also harness the enthusiasm of young people, training them as volunteer labour and giving them in return an interesting working holiday. In the early 1980s, the Aagaards raised funds and found trustees, including architects, artists, and deans of cathedrals. Establishing a supply of suitable tools and conservation materials, insurance, accommodation, and transport all needed careful planning. In the twenty years during which Aagaard headed the organization, Cathedral Camps enabled some nine thousand students to spend time working and living in cathedrals. Camps were organized every year at twenty-four centres, mostly English cathedrals, but also some larger parish churches and some Church of Scotland
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....
, free church and Roman Catholic places of worship.
Church of England appointments
Aagaard was a churchwardenChurchwarden
A churchwarden is a lay official in a parish church or congregation of the Anglican Communion, usually working as a part-time volunteer. Holders of these positions are ex officio members of the parish board, usually called a vestry, parish council, parochial church council, or in the case of a...
at Knaresborough
Knaresborough
Knaresborough is an old and historic market town, spa town and civil parish in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, located on the River Nidd, four miles east of the centre of Harrogate.-History:...
and from 1995 a member of the General Synod of the Church of England
General Synod of the Church of England
The General Synod is the deliberative and legislative body of the Church of England. The synod was instituted in 1970, replacing the Church Assembly, and is the culmination of a process of rediscovering self-government for the Church of England that had started in the 1850s.- Church Assembly: 1919...
. He was Chairman of the Ripon Diocesan Advisory Committee and a member of the Ripon Cathedral
Ripon Cathedral
Ripon Cathedral is the seat of the Bishop of Ripon and Leeds and the mother church of the Diocese of Ripon and Leeds, situated in the small North Yorkshire city of Ripon, England.-Background:...
Fabric Advisory Committee from 1993, a member of the Bradford Cathedral
Bradford Cathedral
Bradford Cathedral , full name Cathedral Church of St Peter, is situated in the heart of Bradford in West Yorkshire, England, on a site used for Christian worship since the 8th century when missionaries based in Dewsbury evangelised the region...
Fabric Advisory Committee from 1997, of the Cathedrals' Fabric Commission for England, from 1995, and of the Ripon Diocese Redundant Churches Uses Committee, from 1984.
Private life
In 1960, he married Fiona Christine Drury, and they had two sons and one daughter.In Who's Who
Who's Who (UK)
Who's Who is an annual British publication of biographies which vary in length of about 30,000 living notable Britons.-History:...
, he gave his recreations as "Gardening, walking" and his address in the year of his death as Manor House, High Birstwith, Harrogate
Harrogate
Harrogate is a spa town in North Yorkshire, England. The town is a tourist destination and its visitor attractions include its spa waters, RHS Harlow Carr gardens, and Betty's Tea Rooms. From the town one can explore the nearby Yorkshire Dales national park. Harrogate originated in the 17th...
, North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...
.
External links
- cathedralcamps.org.uk - official web site