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Musette Majendie
Musette Frances Jacqueline Natalie Majendie CBE (1903–1981)[1] was the owner of Hedingham Castle.[2] FamilyMajendie was the granddaughter of Lewis Majendie MP.[3] The Majendie family had owned Hedingham Castle for 250 years until Miss Majendie left it to her cousin Thomas Lindsay.[4] Community projectsFrom 1930, Majendie led a programme at Hedingham supported by the Ministry of Labour to train unemployed men for jobs in service.[5] She received the CBE for this scheme in the 1935 Birthday Honours.[6] Musette was a scout leader for many years, with the keep serving as the scout hut and camps taking place in the grounds. After the war, Majendie developed a close relationship with Dr Margery Blackie, who began to spend every weekend at Hedingham and consider the castle home. In 1951, Majendie and Blackie donated two acres of land, which had been intended for use as a war memorial until an alternative site was found, to the Halstead Council for building council houses.[7] Majendie and Blackie held events at the castle such as fashion shows to raise funds for their respective interests, the Scout movement in Essex and the Homeopathic Society.[8] Majendie and Blackie also opened the gardens at Hedingham for the National Gardens Scheme.[9] In the last year of her life, from 1980 to 1981, she lived at Hedingham Castle with Blackie. Death and commemorationMajendie died in 1981. She was remembered as a "fine horsewoman, crack shot and [being] known to chop down trees single-handed".[10] Majendie and Blackie were jointly commemorated on a plaque in St Nicholas' Church, Castle Hedingham.  References
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