{{short description|British herbalist and author}} '''Hilda Leyel''' ({{nee}} '''Wauton'''; 6 December 1880 – 15 April 1957), who wrote under the name '''Mrs. C. F. Leyel''', was an expert on [[Herbal medicine|herbalism]] and founded the ''Society of Herbalists'' (later the ''Herb Society'')<ref>[http://www.herbsociety.org.uk/about.htm The Herb Society's official website] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927194901/http://www.herbsociety.org.uk/about.htm |date=27 September 2007}}</ref> in England in 1927, as well as a chain of herbalist stores called the Culpeper House herb shops.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> {{Infobox writer | name = Hilda Leyel | birth_date = 6 December 1880 | birth_name = Hilda Wauton | birth_place = London, United Kingdom | death_date = 15 April 1957 (age 77) | death_place = London, United Kingdom | nationality = [[London]], [[British people|British]] | occupation = [[Author]] }}
Leyel was the author of a book on herbalism, called ''Elixirs of Life'',<ref>Mrs. C.F.Leyel - Elixirs of Life - Kegan Paul (2002); {{ISBN|0-7103-0742-X}}</ref> among other works on the subject, as well as the cookery book ''The Gentle Art of Cookery''.<ref>Leyel, H. and Hartley, O. ''The Gentle Art of Cookery'', Kegan Paul (2003); {{ISBN|0-7103-0915-5}}</ref> She was a fellow of the [[Royal Institution]] and an officer of the [[Académie Française]].<ref name=":2" />
==Early life and education == Leyel was born in London and educated at [[Uppingham School]],<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Russell |first=Polly |date=1 July 2016 |title=''Picnics for Motorists'', by Mrs CF Level |url=https://www.ft.com/content/498a41e6-3d84-11e6-9f2c-36b487ebd80a |access-date=5 July 2022 |website=Financial Times}}</ref> a [[Public school (United Kingdom)|fee-charging independent]] [[Single-sex education|school for boys]] where her father Edward Wauton was a teacher.<ref name=HS>[https://herbsociety.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/The-Herb-Society-Information.pdf Herb Society website, ''The Herb Society Information'']</ref> While still young, she developed a precocious interest in herbs and flowers and after leaving school studied medicine. She worked briefly with [[Frank Benson (actor)|Frank Benson]], who was an actor-manager.
== Later career and personal life == In 1900, at the age of 19, she married Carl Frederick Leyel,<ref>[https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/leyel-hilda-1880-1957 Encyclopedia website, Women section, ''Leyel, Hilda'']</ref> a theatrical manager five years her senior. The couple had two sons.<ref name=HS /> They were said to be unhappy and divorced in 1922.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Hobson |first=Christine |title=Audacious Women in a Man's World: Eight Women Who Made a Difference |publisher=Amazon Books |date=1 October 2021}}</ref> (Carl remarried to Nancy Mary Manfield the following year, but it was a short marriage as he was thrown from a horse in 1925 and died as a result of the injuries.)<ref name=":2" />
Carl and Hilda began their married life in a flat in [[Lincoln's Inn]],<ref name=":2" /> London's legal district. There she began to entertain, developing an interest in food and wine. The influential friends she made at this point in her life<ref name=":2" /> rallied to her support in 1922 when she was prosecuted for running the Golden Ballot, a charity which raised money for ex-servicemen and various hospitals. Her acquittal helped to establish the legality of such ballots. Much of the money Hilda raised was used to build and maintain the Westfield Memorial Village, in Lancaster, which provided homes for disabled veterans of World War 1, as described in the Lancashire Evening Post of 24th May, 2019 (available online).
She was elected a life governor of [[St Mary's Hospital, London|St Mary's]], the [[West London Hospital|West London]], and the [[Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital|Royal National Orthopaedic hospitals]].
==Herbalism== Leyel became very interested in herbalism, and with her academic training in botany, she studied the work of the herbalist [[Nicholas Culpeper]], among others. She wrote ''The Magic of Herbs'' in 1926, and in 1927 she opened Culpeper House on Baker Street,<ref name=HS /> a shop selling herbal medicines, food and cosmetics; these proved very successful, especially with women. She founded the Society of Herbalists,<ref>[https://herbsociety.org.uk/about-us/ Herb Society website, ''About Us'']</ref> a non-profit organization, for the study and application of herbalism. The society later became the Herb Society, a registered educational charity.<ref name=HS />
In 1941, the society's existence was threatened by the [[Pharmacy and Medicines Act 1941|Pharmacy and Medicines Bill]], which would have destroyed the work of the herbalist in England.<ref name=HS /> Influential friends rallied to Leyel's support, and the bill was modified to enable patients to obtain treatment upon joining the society. She also joined [[Albert Howard|Sir Albert Howard]] in his campaign for compost versus synthetic fertilizers, and those working for pure water and food.
==Cookery== Leyel was a proponent of a simpler style of cooking, turning away from the [[Victorian cuisine|Victorian 'high class' cookery]] and favouring seasonal and local ingredients.<ref name=":0" />
Her influence was acknowledged by [[Elizabeth David]], who in an article for ''[[The Spectator]]'' in July 1963 wrote 'I wonder if I would ever have learned to cook at all had I been given a routine Mrs Beeton [i.e. ''[[Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management]]''] to learn from instead of the romantic Mrs Leyel, with her rather wild and imagination-catching recipes'.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=David |first=Elizabeth |title=Spices, salt and aromatics in the English kitchen |date=2000 |isbn=978-1-909808-52-2 |location=London |oclc=891395824}}</ref><ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Levy |first=Walter |date=5 July 2022 |title=''C.F. Leyel's Picnics for Motorists (1936)'' |url=https://picnicwit.com/foodanddrink/cookbooks/picnics-for-motorists-c-f-leyel-1936/ |access-date=5 July 2022 |website=Picnic Wit. The History. The Food. The Stories.}}</ref> Although Elizabeth David praised Leyel's writing, which she described as "fresh and alluring", she questioned whether the recipes would work, describing them as "sketchy in the extreme" and "another manifestation of the English love affair with Eastern food and [[One Thousand and One Nights|Arabian Nights]] Ingredients".<ref name=":3" />
==Works== In 1931, Leyel edited [[Maud Grieve]]'s ''A Modern Herbal'' in two volumes. She herself wrote a long series of works on herbs, including ''Herbal Delights'' (1937), ''Compassionate Herbs'' (1946), ''Elixirs of Life'' (1948), ''Hearts-Ease'' (1949), ''Green Medicine'' (1952), and ''Cinquefoil'' (1957), as well as others on cooking including ''Picnics for Motorists'' (1936).
''Picnic for Motorists'' (1936) evokes, according to food historian [[Polly Russell]], 'the romance of empty roads, endless summers and carefully packed hampers'<ref name=":0" /> Walter Levy claims that "despite its title ''Picnic for Motorists'' is often unpicknicky",<ref name=":1" /> that is, unsuitable for an excursion or outdoor eating. The book lists 60 picnic menus, the first of which "suggests melon, cold chicken pie, ham and pea salad, chocolate mousse and cream cheese and crescent rolls". Leyel is said by Russell to have "eclectic" tastes as the book has recipes for "Indian pie with rice, German pie and Chinese orange salad".<ref name=":0" />
==Honors and retirement== Leyel was a fellow of the [[Royal Institution]], and an officer of l'[[Académie française]]. She received the ''[[:fr:Palmes académiques|Palmes Académiques]]'' of France in 1924, for her work in supporting disabled service personnel and the work she did with the Society of Herbalists.<ref name=":2" />
She died in the [[Harley Street|Harley Street Nursing Home]] at 35 Weymouth Street in London on 15 April 1957.<ref name=":2" />
==Books== Leyal wrote several books as C. F. Leyal.<ref name=HS />
*''Herbal Delights, Botanical Information and Recipes<ref>{{Cite web |last=ThriftBooks |title=Herbal Delights book by Hilda Leyel |url=https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/herbal-delights_hilda-leyel_c-f-leyel/966761/?srsltid=AfmBOopqihFMB4J08pw_snLXyXgk_ZpQ4GwWo54g5X35Khe0o8YhMdWG#edition=1884102&idiq=4750122 |access-date=2025-03-05 |website=ThriftBooks |language=en}}</ref>'' *''The Magic of Herbs<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Magic of Herbs by LEYEL (C.F. [Hilda]) & BAWDEN (Edward): (1926) {{!}} Maggs Bros. Ltd ABA, ILAB, PBFA |url=https://www.abebooks.com/Magic-Herbs-LEYEL-C.F-Hilda-BAWDEN/31633021197/bd |access-date=2025-03-05 |website=www.abebooks.com |language=en}}</ref>'' *''The Truth About Herbs<ref>{{Cite web |title=The truth about herbs by Mrs. C. F. Leyel |url=https://www.librarything.com/work/9102120 |access-date=2025-03-05 |website=LibraryThing.com |language=en}}</ref>'' *''Jams<ref>{{Cite web |last=B |first=Lizzie |date=2021-06-09 |title=Hilda Leyel (1880-1957) |url=https://womenwhomeantbusiness.com/2021/06/09/hilda-leyel-1880-1957/ |access-date=2025-03-05 |website=Women Who Meant Business |language=en}}</ref>'' *''The magic of herbs: A modern book of secrets<ref>[https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19172916.C_F_Leyel Goodreads website, ''C. F. Leyel'']</ref>''
== References == <references/>
== External links ==
* [https://www.ft.com/content/498a41e6-3d84-11e6-9f2c-36b487ebd80a ‘Picnics for Motorists’, by Mrs CF Leyel by Polly Russell] * Chapter on Hilda Leyel in 'Audacious Women in a Man's World' by Christine Hobson, [https://www.amazon.co.uk/Audacious-Women-Mans-World-Difference-ebook/dp/B09HP2P18Q Amazon website] * [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/long_reads/national-lottery-jackpot-hilda-leyel-uk-a8814336.html 'How a London socialite founded the national lottery' by Martin Purdy in The Independent newspaper 8th May, 2019.] * "Medicinal Plants in Wartime" [https://www.newbotaniststwo.uk]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Leyel, Hilda}} [[Category:Herbalists]] [[Category:British writers]] [[Category:1880 births]] [[Category:1957 deaths]] [[Category:Writers from London]]