John Lawrence Nettleship (1 August 1939 – 12 March 2011) was a British schoolteacher who taught chemistry at Wyedean School, Gloucestershire. His pupils there included J. K. Rowling, and he has been stated to be a major inspiration for the character of Severus Snape in Rowling's Harry Potter series of fantasy novels.
Nettleship in his youth
Lifeedit
Nettleship was born in Nottingham, the son of Albert Victor Nettleship and Lilian (née Slack). He studied chemistry at the University of Leeds in the late 1950s. He joined the Labour Party at that time, and remained an active member for the rest of his life. After leaving university, he taught in Birmingham, where he married and had three children; the marriage later ended in divorce and he remarried in the 1980s.[1]
In 1970, he began teaching at Caldicot School in Monmouthshire, Wales, moving to become Head of Science at Wyedean School in Sedbury, Gloucestershire, a few miles away, in 1974.[1]
As the Harry Potter series gained international recognition, Nettleship was often recognized as a personal character inspiration for Severus Snape.[2] He described himself in hindsight as "a short-tempered chemistry teacher with long hair...[and a] gloomy, malodorous laboratory."[3] He was first questioned about his links to Rowling's character of Snape by journalists, saying: "I was horrified when I first found out. I knew I was a strict teacher but I didn't think I was that bad."[4] After being initially unhappy about the comparison, Nettleship came to terms with the connection, and wrote a short book, Harry Potter's Chepstow, about Rowling's connections with Chepstow.[2] He also gave talks on the connections that the Chepstow, Wye Valley and Forest of Dean areas had with the Harry Potter books.[5][6]
Nettleship retired in 1997. As well as being an active member of the Labour Party, he was a member of Caerwentcommunity council, serving as its chairman in 1991. He was instrumental in setting up Caerwent Historic Trust, becoming its secretary and researching the history of the area.[5]
He died of cancer in 2011, aged 71, after having been diagnosed in 2006. A spokeswoman for J. K. Rowling said that the author was sorry to hear of his death.[1]
^. ThisIsGloucestershire.co.uk. 25 June 2009. Archived from the original on 1 January 2011.
^ abHind, Lia (16 March 2011). "Chepstow inspiration for Harry Potter prof dies". South Wales Argus.
^. Chepstow Free Press. 3 October 2003. Archived from the original on 3 October 2011.
^"Magic Beyond Words: The J.K. Rowling Story: Full Cast & Crew". IMDb. Retrieved 30 June 2017.
External linksedit
"Rowling's 'spell' on science teacher". BBC News. 28 December 2001.
Jordan, Claire M. "A true original: John Nettleship and the roots of Severus Snape". madasafish.com.
January 01, 1970
john, nettleship, english, artist, john, trivett, nettleship, john, lawrence, nettleship, august, 1939, march, 2011, british, schoolteacher, taught, chemistry, wyedean, school, gloucestershire, pupils, there, included, rowling, been, stated, major, inspiration. For the English artist see John Trivett Nettleship John Lawrence Nettleship 1 August 1939 12 March 2011 was a British schoolteacher who taught chemistry at Wyedean School Gloucestershire His pupils there included J K Rowling and he has been stated to be a major inspiration for the character of Severus Snape in Rowling s Harry Potter series of fantasy novels Nettleship in his youthLife editNettleship was born in Nottingham the son of Albert Victor Nettleship and Lilian nee Slack He studied chemistry at the University of Leeds in the late 1950s He joined the Labour Party at that time and remained an active member for the rest of his life After leaving university he taught in Birmingham where he married and had three children the marriage later ended in divorce and he remarried in the 1980s 1 In 1970 he began teaching at Caldicot School in Monmouthshire Wales moving to become Head of Science at Wyedean School in Sedbury Gloucestershire a few miles away in 1974 1 As the Harry Potter series gained international recognition Nettleship was often recognized as a personal character inspiration for Severus Snape 2 He described himself in hindsight as a short tempered chemistry teacher with long hair and a gloomy malodorous laboratory 3 He was first questioned about his links to Rowling s character of Snape by journalists saying I was horrified when I first found out I knew I was a strict teacher but I didn t think I was that bad 4 After being initially unhappy about the comparison Nettleship came to terms with the connection and wrote a short book Harry Potter s Chepstow about Rowling s connections with Chepstow 2 He also gave talks on the connections that the Chepstow Wye Valley and Forest of Dean areas had with the Harry Potter books 5 6 Nettleship retired in 1997 As well as being an active member of the Labour Party he was a member of Caerwent community council serving as its chairman in 1991 He was instrumental in setting up Caerwent Historic Trust becoming its secretary and researching the history of the area 5 He died of cancer in 2011 aged 71 after having been diagnosed in 2006 A spokeswoman for J K Rowling said that the author was sorry to hear of his death 1 He was played by Andrew Kavadas in the J K Rowling biopic Magic Beyond Words 7 References edit a b c Hind Lia 23 March 2011 A man of so many talents Chepstow Free Press a b Rowling s teacher who inspired Harry Potter s Prof Snape dies at 71 Western Mail 17 March 2011 John Nettleship Harry Potter s Chepstow 2009 The name s Snape Severus Snape ThisIsGloucestershire co uk 25 June 2009 Archived from the original on 1 January 2011 a b Hind Lia 16 March 2011 Chepstow inspiration for Harry Potter prof dies South Wales Argus Was a saint born here Chepstow Free Press 3 October 2003 Archived from the original on 3 October 2011 Magic Beyond Words The J K Rowling Story Full Cast amp Crew IMDb Retrieved 30 June 2017 External links edit Rowling s spell on science teacher BBC News 28 December 2001 Jordan Claire M A true original John Nettleship and the roots of Severus Snape madasafish com Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title John Nettleship amp oldid 1219684066, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
