Leyel, Hilda (1880–1957)

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Leyel, Hilda (1880–1957)

English herbalist. Name variations: Hilda Winifred Ivy Leyel; Mrs C.F. Leyel. Born Hilda Winifred Ivy Wauton, Dec 6, 1880, in London, England; died April 15, 1957; dau. of a French teacher at Uppingham School, Rutland; m. Carl Frederick Leyel (theatrical manager), 1900 (died 1925).

Founded Society of Herbalists in England and generated a renewed interest in herbalism; began career as a London shop proprietor (1927); studied medicine and herbalists, including Nicholas Culpeper; opened the highly successful Culpeper House, an herbal shop in London (1927); edited 2 volumes of M. Grieve's A Modern Herbal (1931); advocated the use of pure water, pure food, artificial fertilizers, and herbs for mental and physical well being; with help of influential friends, had a 1941 bill amended to permit members of the Society of Herbalists to be legally treated with herbs; wrote The Magic of Herbs (1926), Herbal Delights (1937) and Green Medicine (1952).