A thousand billion thousand ports! The tomb of Mary Haddock, mother of Admiral Richard Haddock, who inspired Tintin’s father, Hergé, has been classified as a historic monument, the British government agency Historic England announced on Wednesday
Responsible for protecting English heritage, the agency has just revealed its list of “17 remarkable and unusual historic buildings and places” which will now be subject to protection.
Among them, a 17th century tomb, located in Essex (south-east of England), which is none other than the burial of a certain Mary Haddock, the mother of Admiral Richard Haddock, having inspired the eponymous character in the Tintin comic strip: Captain Haddock.
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This impulsive, whiskey-loving man, known for his swearing, is often described as the most popular character in The Adventures of Tintin, the work of Belgian cartoonist Hergé.
Mary Haddock’s grave is “remarkable as a unique monument dedicated to a woman in a period of gender inequality”, writes the Historic England agency in its press release.
Highlight little-known sites
Like Richard Haddock, the captain imagined by Hergé was a sailor. The grave of Richard Haddock’s grandfather, William Goodland, is also listed as a scheduled monument.
Among this year’s other additions: a Baptist church in Bristol, southwest England, which houses a supermarket on the ground floor. Historic England has listed this 1960s building as a “striking example of post-war church architecture”.
This annual ranking aims to highlight original and little-known heritage sites.
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