Robert Blachford Mansfield

Born at Rowner, Hampshire, on February 1, 1824, Robert Blachford Mansfield was educated at Winchester College and University College, Oxford, where he took his B.A. in 1846. He was called to the bar, but did not pursue legal work seriously, choosing instead a more wandering life in Britain and on the Continent.

He was known both as an author and a sportsman. Contemporary biographical sources describe him as a skilled oarsman, and his best-known books grew out of rowing expeditions on European rivers, including The Log of the Water-Lily and The Water-Lily on the Danube. He also wrote School-Life at Winchester College, a spirited memoir of his school days, and later published New and Old Chips from an Old Block, an autobiographical collection.

Mansfield was also noted for his enthusiasm for outdoor pursuits, especially shooting and early golf. A biographical account says he learned golf at Pau in 1857 and later helped introduce the game at Southampton, Malvern, Winchester, and Brighton. He died in 1908, leaving behind writing that is still valued for its firsthand, conversational glimpse of Victorian travel, education, and sport.