In footsteps of a computer great
THERE is nothing like a walk in the South West countryside to clear the mind and gather your thoughts and come up with some great ones, as two of the pioneers of computing discovered.
Soon you will be able to walk in the footsteps of Charles Babbage, a son of south Devon, and Ada, Countess Lovelace, adopted daughter of west Somerset, at her estate on Exmoor.
Work begins this month to restore and reveal parts of the historic carriage routes, viewpoints and other features that formed part of her former stomping ground.
While walking on the terraces of the once ornate gardens, Lovelace – daughter of the poet, Lord Byron – and the mathematician Babbage were reputed to have come up with the principles behind the ‘difference engine’ – a forerunner to the computer.
Babbage, being a man, had a narrow focus on the machine’s potential use. Lovelace, being a woman, had multi-tasking in mind: the polymath is regarded by many as the first to recognise the full potential of a ‘computing machine’.
Lovelace, a gifted mathemati
cian, was a collaborator of and long-time friend of Babbage, who lived in Teignmouth and had part of his schooling in Totnes. They regularly walked her estate near Porlock.
The National Park is restoring surviving features in Culbone wood, granting walkers on the South West Coast Path a taste of the sense of awe that must have been felt upon emerging from historic tunnels into breath-taking views out to sea, framed by groves of giant redwoods and firs.
The effect was created by Lovelace and her husband, William King, as part of a landscape in the Picturesque style, inspired by the fashion to try to capture the beauty of nature by design. Graeme McVittie, Exmoor National Park senior woodland officer, said: “The principles of the early 19th century Picturesque movement were to create views or pictures into the natural world. And now we are simply trying to create a picture into their world, and the passions and inspirations that lay behind Ada’s genius.”
On October 5 Porlock will hold its annual Cream Tea with Inspirational Women in celebration of Ada Lovelace Day, in honour of the achievements of women in science all over the world. The event at Porlock Village Hall sees five women, from the worlds of art, travel, film, education and theatre share their passions, achievements and inspirations, with this year’s speakers billed as Molly Rooke, Hilary Bradt, Lynn Pearson, Jane Keeley and Sarah Peterkin.
The park authority is also doing a detailed survey to identify if any of the original trees planted by the Lovelace survive.
Sadly, she did not live long enough to see them mature: born in 1815 she died in 1852 at the age of 37.