Few have written more beautifully about the British countryside than Francis Kilvert. A country clergyman born in 1840, Kilvert spent much of his time visiting parishioners, walking the lanes and fields of Herefordshire and writing in his diary. Full of passionate delight in the natural world and the glory of the changing seasons, his diaries are as generous, spontaneous and vivacious as Kilvert himself. He is an irresistible companion. This new edition of William Plomer’s original selection contains new archival material as well as a fascinating introduction illuminating Kilvert’s world and the history of the diaries. ‘One of the best books in English’ Sunday Times 'Kilvert has touched and delighted (and mildly shocked) readers of his diaries ever since they were first published. New readers are in for a treat' Alan Bennett
This diary, which paints a unique picture of country life in mid-Victorian times, has come to be recognized as a classic: its author has been compared to Dorothy Wordsworth, whom he admired, and even to Pepys. It was kept from January 1870 until March 1879, and was closely written in twenty-two notebooks. `The discovery of the extensive diary of Reverend Francis Kilvert some years ago added a new classic to English diary literature. The original selections, in three volumes, appeared under the careful and sympathetic editorship of William Plomer between 1938 and 1940. The present abridged one-volume edition has been admirably prepared and selected by the same hand. For Kilvert fans it may serve as a travelling companion or bedside book; for the uninitiated it is the perfect introduction. ' C. V. Wedgwood
Kilverts Diary 1870-1879Selections from the Diary of The Rev. Francis Kilvert Chosen, Edited Introduced by WILLIAM PLOMER INTRODUCTION ROBERT FRANCIS KILVERT was born at Hardenhuish, or Harnish, near Chippenham in Wiltshire, on die 3rd December, 1840. He was the second child of the rector of the parish, the Rev. Robert Kilvert, and of Thermuthis, daughter of Walter Coleman of Langley Ktzurse and Thermuthis Ashe of Langley Burrell. The Kilverts, originally a Shropshire family, had migrated to Bath in the eighteenth century the Colemans and Ashes had been long settled in Wiltshire. Francis Kilvert spent his early years at Harden huish, was educated privately, went in due course to Wadham College, Oxford, and entered the Church. Here is a brief outline of his brief career. His first curacy was at Langley Burrell 186364, of which place his father had become rector. In 1865 he went to Clyro in Radnorshire, and was curate there for seven years. From 1872 to 1876 he was back at Langley Burrell, again as curate to his father. In the latter year he was presented to the living of St. Harmons in Radnorshire, and in November, 1877, became vicar of Bredwardine, on the Wye in Herefordshire. On the 20th August, 1879, he married Elizabeth Anne 18461911, daughter of John Rowland, of Holly Bank, Wootton, near Woodstock: he had met her during a visit to Paris. They spent their honeymoon in Scotland, and on tie 23rd Septem ber he died suddenly of peritonitis. He was buried at Bredwardine. Ttere were no children of the marriage, and Mrs. Kilvert, who returned to Wootton and devoted herself to good works, did not marry again. The Diary, which paints a unique picture of country life in mid Victorian times, has come to be recognized as a minor classic: its author has been compared to Dorothy Wordsworth, whom he admired, and even to Pepys. It was kept no doubt continuously, from January, 1870, until March, 1879, but two portions are missing the first covering the period between September, 1875, and March, 1876, and the second that between June, 1876, and December, 1877. It is closely written in 22 notebooks, from which a selection, made by the present editor, was published by Jonathan Cape in three volumes in 193 8,1939 and 1940. Had the whole Diary been printed, it would have filled nine printed volumes. Since the present selection amounts to such a small part of the whole it cannot be said to give more than a partial view of Kilverts life, character and environment: it does not, for example, do justice to his assiduity as a parish priest, but it does include many of the best entries in the Diary and it gives much detail about Clyro and Langley Burrell, the two places now chiefly associated with his name. A few notes on some of the persons mentioned in the Diary may be of interest to the reader. Francis Kilvert familiarly known as Frank had one brother, Edward Newton Teddy or Perch, and four sisters Thermuthis Thersie, who married the Rev. W. R.
Pevsner described the pairing of church and parsonage as a feature of the English village unparalleled on the Continent. John Betjeman saw the design of rectories and vicarages as highly influential on our architecture. Forsaken by the Church but coveted by the private buyer, this is the story of these quintessentially English houses, with their combination of fine architecture, charm and character, large gardens and often splendidly rural locations. The Old Rectory examines their history, their evolution through the centuries, their many and varied styles of architecture, and their place in our heritage. It also explores the contribution made to our culture by the clerical families who once occupied these houses, and the famous people and eccentrics who have been associated with them. Finally, it considers their current role, and what the future might hold.
SINCE its first appearance in three volumes (1938–40) Kilvert’s Diary has become established as a minor classic. Its recognized place among the very best of English diaries has been gained by special qualities. It is the work of a man with a watchful eye and a clear style: Kilvert has the uncommon gift of making one see vividly what he describes. His detailed picture of life in the English countryside in mid-Victorian times is unmatched, and every sentence he writes helps to build up a self-portrait so personal and intimate that one gets to know him like a friend. Kilvert reveals himself as an essentially modest, innocent, truthful and unworldly young man, sociable, and with a strong love of life and of landscape, with a sense of drama and a good vein of humour. His life was strongly affected by two things–his susceptibility to the beauty of young women and girls, and his lack of money and of what used to be called prospects. As a faithful country clergyman, he moved with equal ease among people of both the landowning and labouring classes, and by both was welcomed equally. His good nature and good manners, his vitality, his love of children, and his practical sympathy with the unfortunate, won him much affection. If he did not question the values of his own class, he was never indifferent to sufferings which they permitted, and did what he could, with his evidently magnetic presence and voice, to lessen those sufferings. He knew that not far from the convivial and copious dinners and picnics, the lively croquet and archery parties, could be found loneliness, squalor, and hunger, and sometimes murders and suicides.
