In an English Country Churchyard: Eversley, Hampshire, May 1975

Abstract

In late May 1975 the writer visited Eversley, an isolated village, comprising three scattered hamlets and still in an area thick with bracken and clumps of firs, which was formerly in the Old Windsor Forest and a famed hunting area throughout mediaeval English history. The main reason for the visit was to attend the forthcoming summer exhibition and other events associated with the centenary of the death of the novelist, social reformer, poet and naturalist, Charles Kingsley (1819-1875), for over thirty years the Rector of this village. But it was soon discovered that there were other eighteenth and nineteenth century cultural associations of interest, largely identified in the church and churchyard, which were of significance for Australia and for New England, in particular. Somewhat by accident it was discovered that there was a subtly intricate cluster of cultural relationships in the village which included a number of Australian settlers, English writers and fictional figures, while pioneering movements from the village to Australia brought return tides and ideas back from the Southern Hemisphere, back to English life and letters.