Briars, Saint Helena

Briars is a small pavilion, the Napoleon Bonaparte lived in the first weeks of his captivity on Saint Helena. The pavilion was in the garden of William Balcombe, an English merchant, the supplier of Napoleon. His 14 -year-old daughter Elizabeth Lucia ( " Betsy " ) Balcombe was the only family member who spoke French and she became the family translator. Because of their closeness to Napoleon, Balcombe, the family of Governor Hudson Lowe was suspected of spying and in 1818 she was forced to leave the island and return to England. The Briars was then to accommodation for the Admiral stationed here by the service.

Later Balcombe was offered a job in Australia. In 1959, the pavilion of a descendant of William Balcombe, Dame Mabel Brookes, the French nation was given, and thus became the third French possession on the island. The property of Balcombe in Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, Australia Family, also received the name of The Briars, and is now run by Mornington Peninsula Shire and the public. collected by Mabel Brookes Napoleonic memorabilia, which were also donated to Mornington Peninsula are issued partly there.

Swell

• Lucia Elizabeth Balco Abell, Betsy Balcombe, David Markham (ed. ): To Befriend on Emperor: Betsy Balcombe 's Memoirs of Napoleon on St. Helena. Rave Hall, Welwyn Garden City, UK, 2005, ISBN 978-1-905043-03-3 ( Recollections of the Emperor Napoleon falling on the First Three Years of his Captivity on the Iceland of St Helena. John Murray, London, 1944 ).
• I. Hackett (2006) Balcombe Family and " The Briars " Park, Mt Martha, Victoria tourist pamphlet published by Mornington Peninsula Shire.