WILTSHIRE AND OTHER THINGS IN COMMON 253 
‘Upavon’ by Bernard Venables 1994 watercolour 25.5 x 19 inches. 
taught not just angling but waterlife and bankside 
etiquette by the Crabtrees and another couple Mr 
Cherry and Fim. In 1953 Venables co-founded the 
Angling Times and ten years later founded a 
sophisticated country magazine titled Creel. 
Scott’s angling stories include catching and 
despatching to London Zoo’s aquarium some 
exceptionally large Perch, weighing 2 lb. 10 oz. and 
3 Ib. 2 oz. respectively, and making detailed 
drawings of Roach-Rudd and Rudd-Bream hybrids 
that he sent to Dr Tate Regan at the Natural History 
Museum. Egg collecting and moth catching also 
feature; as does, of all things, catching a baby 
badger in an umbrella so that he could examine it. 
Scott revealed this to be the only badger he had seen 
in a radio broadcast in 1939, until he returned to 
Wiltshire to night-watch with a friend in woods 
near Hungerford and Marlborough. The same year 
Bernard Venables was first mesmerized by the trout 
swimming in the sparkling waters of the Kennet at 
Hungerford. 
Compared side by side, pencil portraits by Scott 
and Venables show a remarkable similarity in easy, 
light, effective use of the pencil; while the ink- 
drawn map key to creatures and plants encountered 
within walking distance of The Lacket produced by 
the young Scott shows the same explicit projection 
of form that Venables’ superb illustrations of active 
fish brought to the tales of Mr Crabtree and Mr 
Cherry. Their watercolours of country scenes also 
show similarities in use of colour bringing 
backgrounds to life, involving the onlooker in the 
natural scene before them. Rare examples of their 
late artwork can also be found to be similar, 
strikingly symbolic scenes conveying meaning 
beyond the dimensions of their more familiar work. 
Above all other things in common, both Scott and 
Venables can be seen as inspiring multitudes in 
enjoying and respecting the natural world through 
mediums that appeal beyond the academy. Despite 
ascending that plane these intuitive natural 
historians instinctively encouraged others, and in 
doing so spread knowledge and wisdom along with 
their enthusiasm. Were one word required to 
epitomise a common thread in the legacy of Scott 
and Venables’ work in natural history, it would 
