John Betjeman and Cornwall

Philip Payton

Description

“I was one of the 8,000-strong ‘Betjemaniacs’ gathered at Carruan farm in Cornwall in August 2006 to celebrate the hundredth birthday of Sir John Betjeman, the late Poet Laureate. Situated high above Polzeath, with tremendous views out to the azure Atlantic and the great headland of Pentire, Carruan was, with its exhilarating sense of space, an inspirational choice for this great event. I stood in the pasty-queue with the Archbishop of Canterbury, watched the poetic performance of Bert Biscoe, and browsed among the bookstalls in the hope of finding second-hand copies of rare Betjeman books to add to my collection. Here was that Patrick Taylor-Martin volume that had eluded me for years, and Betjeman’s Britain – compiled by Candida Lycett Green, Betjeman’s daughter – together with more recent editions of old favourites.”         


Philip Payton, in the preface to John Betjeman and Cornwall

Quintessentially English, Betjeman was an 'outsider' in England - and doubly so in Cornwall where, as he was the first to admit, he was a ‘foreigner’. And yet, as this book describes, Betjeman also strove to acquire a veneer of ‘Cornishness', cultivating an alternative Celtic identity, and finding inspiration in Cornwall's Anglo-Catholic tradition.


He was also active in Cornish affairs, insisting that Cornwall was not part of England, and championing Cornish environmental concerns that anticipated today's focus on sustainability.


The new research in this book includes a wealth of previously ignored source material, forming a lively new account of Betjeman's life and work and his defining relationship with Cornwall. This book is likely to be controversial and to provoke debate.

List of Illustrations


Preface


Preamble: 'The Sky Widens to a Sense of Cornwall'


1.  'That Bold Coast-line Where he was Not Born': John Betjeman as 'foreigner'


2.  'Into Betjemanland': Imagining North Cornwall


3.  'The Oldest Part of Cornwall': Hawker, Baring-Gould and 'Betjeman Country'


4.  'Caverns of Light revealed the Holy Grail': Betjeman and The Secret Glory


5.  'A Longing for Ireland': Sean O'Betjeman and the 'Anglo-Celtic Muse'


6.  'I'm Free! I'm Free!': Cornwall as Liberation


7.  'Jan Trebetjeman, The Cornish Clot': John Betjeman Goes Native


Epilogue: 'When People talk to me about "The British"...I Give Up'


Notes


Further Reading


Index

Sujets

• Catholicisme
• Europe
• Royaume-Uni
• Cornwall
• Obermodern-Zutzendorf
• Poète lauréat
• General
• John Betjeman
• Regional
• Great Britain
• Stephen Ireland
• History of Europe
• United Kingdom
• 20th century
• Poet Laureate
• Region
• Ireland
• General officer
• International studies
• History of the British Isles
• Modern history
• Culture of Cornwall
• Biography
• Reino Unido
• Cornualles
• HISTORY
• Modern
• Literary Figures
• Literary Criticism
• controversial
• Regional Studies

Informations

• Publié par: University of Exeter Press
• Date de parution: 02 mars 2015
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780859899239
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 3 Mo

Extrait

John Betjeman and Cornwall
JB and Cornwall PB V2:UEP 8/9/10 14:06 Page 1
John
Betjeman
and Cornwall
“I was one of the 8,000-strong ‘Betjemaniacs’ gathered at Carruan farm
in Cornwall in August 2006 to celebrate the hundredth birthday of JohnSir John Betjeman, the late Poet Laureate. Situated high above Polzeath,
with tremendous views out to the azure Atlantic and the great headland
of Pentire, Carruan was, with its exhilarating sense of space, an
inspirational choice for this great event. I stood in the pasty-queue with
the Archbishop of Canterbury, watched the poetic performance of Bert
Biscoe, and browsed among the bookstalls in the hope of finding Betjeman
second-hand copies of rare Betjeman books to add to my collection.
Here was that Patrick Taylor-Martin volume that had eluded me for years,
and Betjeman’s Britain – compiled by Candida Lycett Green, Betjeman’s and Cornwall
daughter – together with more recent editions of old favourites.”
Philip Payton, in the preface to John Betjeman and Cornwall
In John Betjeman and Cornwall, Philip Payton provides a lively new account
of the life of one of Britain’s most beloved poets, offering new insights into PAYTON “THE CELEBRATED CORNISH NATIONALIST”his work and his defining lifelong relationship with Cornwall.
ISBN 978-0-85989-848-5
UNIVERSITY OF EXETER PRESS
ISBN 978 0 85989 848 5 Philip Payton
9 780859 898485www.exeterpress.co.ukJohn Betjeman and Cornwall
“Betjeman might have been a child of the suburbs, but his heart
and soul lay in Cornwall.” Ric hard Morrison, writing
in The Times, 25 August 2006
Quintessentially English, Betjeman was an ‘outsider’ in England - and
doubly so in Cornwall where, as he was the frst to admit, he was a
‘foreigner’.
And yet, as this book describes, Betjeman also strove to acquire a
veneer of ‘Cornishness’, cultivating an alternative Celtic identity that
he wove during sojourns in Ireland and other Celtic countries. He
likewise rooted his religious identity in Cornwall, fnding inspiration
in ‘Celtic Christianity’ and Cornwall’s Anglo-Catholic tradition. North
Cornwall, in particular, was for Betjeman a place of ‘liberation’, where
he found relief from the many conficting pressures in his life. But he
was also active in Cornish afairs, insisting that Cornwall was not part
of England, and championing Cornish environmental concerns that
anticipated today’s focus on sustainability.
Philip Payton is Professor of Cornish & Australian Studies in the University
of Exeter and Director of the Institute of Cornish Studies at the University’s
Cornwall campus. He is the author of numerous books on Cornwall and
the Cornish.
Payton, Betjeman and Cornwall.in1 1 02/09/2010 14:52:36Other books from University of Exeter Press by Philip Payton:
A.L. Rowse and Cornwall: A paradoxical patriot (2005)
Making Moonta: The invention of ‘Australia’s Little Cornwall’ (2007)
University of Exeter Press also publishes the annual series ‘Cornish
Studies’, edited by Philip PaytoCno; rnish Studies 18 will be published in
2010.
Payton, Betjeman and Cornwall.in2 2 02/09/2010 14:52:36John Betjeman
and Cornwall
‘The Celebrated Cornish Nationalist’
PHILIP PAYTON
Payton, Betjeman and Cornwall.in3 3 02/09/2010 14:52:36Paperback cover images The photographs by Jane Bown show John Betjeman in 1972 at
the Camel estuary, near Trebetherick, North Cornwall; they are copyright Guardian
News and Media Ltd 2006.
First published in 2010 by
University of Exeter Press
Reed Hall, Streatham Drive
Exeter EX4 4QR
UK
www.exeterpress.co.uk
© Philip Payton 2010
The right of Philip Payton to be identifed as author of this work has been asserted by
him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Hardback ISBN 978 0 85989 847 8
Paperback ISBN 978 0 85989 848 5
Typeset in Perpetua 11½ point on 14 point by Carnegie Book Production, Lancaster
Printed in Great Britain by Short Run Press Ltd, Exeter
Payton, Betjeman and Cornwall.in4 4 02/09/2010 14:52:36For Brigid and Unity,
and in fond remembrance of the Withered Arm
and The Route of the ‘ACE’
‘In time, perhaps, books about Betjeman will be as frequent as
books about [T.S.] Eliot, if less solemn. ’
William Plomer, writing in tGhuae rdian, 7 April 1961
‘Clearly Sir John Betjeman was not a poet to be talked about
in the same breath as, say, T.S. Eliot and it is unlikely that he
will be studied on university Eng Lit course and “explained”
in academic theses and treatises’.
Huddersfeld Daily Examiner, 21 May 1984
Payton, Betjeman and Cornwall.in5 5 02/09/2010 14:52:36Payton, Betjeman and Cornwall.in6 6 02/09/2010 14:52:36Contents
List of Illustrations ix
Preface xi
Preamble: ‘The Sky Widens to a Sense of Cornwall’ xv
1. ‘That Bold Coast-line Where he was Not Born’: John Betjeman
as ‘foreigner’ 1
2. ‘Into Betjemanland’: Imagining North Cornwall 27
3. ‘The Oldest Part of Cornwall’: Hawker, Baring -Gould
and ‘Betjeman Country’ 45
4. ‘Caverns of Light revealed the Holy Grail’: Be tjeman
and The Secret Glory 73
5. ‘A Longing for Ireland’: Séan O’Betjemán and the
‘Anglo-Celtic Muse’ 100
6. ‘I’m Free! I’m Free!’: Cornwall as Liberation 136
7. ‘Jan Trebetjeman, The Cornish Clot’: John Betje man
Goes Native 170
Epilogue: ‘When People talk to me about “The Br itish”
… I Give Up’ 204
Notes 208
Further Reading 240
Index 243
vii
Payton, Betjeman and Cornwall.in7 7 02/09/2010 14:52:36Payton, Betjeman and Cornwall.in8 8 02/09/2010 14:52:36Illustrations
1. Sir John Betjeman’s funeral at St Enodoc, 22 May 1984.
Jonathan Stedall, the flm-maker, is the leading pall-bearer on
the cofn’s left; at the rear is Penelope Betjeman, Sir John’s
widow. Courtesy Topfoto. 3
2. St Enodoc, with its wizened spire, and the Camel estuary
beyond. Courtesy Cornwall Editions. 24
3. The Withered Arm and the ‘Route of A CtEh ’e – the sprawling
railway line into ‘Betjemanland’ and on to Wadebridge and
Padstow. 28
4. ‘the most beautiful train journey I know’. A Southern Railway
train crosses Little Petherick bridge, alongside the Camel
estuary, as it approaches Padstow and the end of the line from
WaterlooC. ourtesy Derek Cross Collection. 30
5. Launceston Castle: ‘Travellers … lift up their hearts at the
sight of Launceston … the Tamar is crossed and here at last is
the Duchy’.C ourtesy Cornwall Editions. 31
6. John Betjeman’s North Cornwall: the classic Southern
Railway poster, from a painting by Norman Wilkinson PRI
entitled ‘Pentire Head near PadstoCowu’r.t esy National Railway
Museum. 35
7. Robert Stephen Hawker, vicar of Morwenstow, in
characteristic garb and pose. 47
8. Sabine Baring-Gould, squarson of Lew Trenchard,
in middle age . 54
9. St Clether chapel and holy well – restored by Baring-Gould
and admired by Betjeman C .o urtesy Cornwall Editions. 59
ix
Payton, Betjeman and Cornwall.in9 9 02/09/2010 14:52:37x john betjeman and cornwall
10. Blisland, a ‘church whose beauty makes you gasp, whose silence
brings you to your knees’, its spectacular rood-screen of 1879
by F.C. Eden. Courtesy Cornwall Editions. 66
11. The ’Obby ’Oss: ‘during May Day Padstow goes mad … [one]
realises that Cornwall is still a foreign country as remote from
England as IrelandCo’.u rtesy Deidre Cleary. 71
12. St Ervan church in its ‘small hollow deep in sycamores’.
Courtesy Deidre Cleary. 74
13. John Betjeman’s letter to Prebendary Wilfred Johnson, April
1949: ‘thank you more than I can say for frst showing me the
Faith’.C ourtesy Elizabeth Bartlett and Candida Lycett Green. 87
14. John Betjeman as family man – with wife Penelope, son Paul,
and daughter CandidCao.u rtesy National Portrait Gallery. 126
15. A preference for Manx postage stamps, rather than English
ones – John Betjeman writes to his friend Jonathan Stedall,
then resident in SusseCx.o urtesy Deidre Cleary and Candida Lycett
Green. 127
16. ‘Lanteglos-by-Fowey – Motorists buy Shell’: Ernest Betjemann’s
jolly line-drawing, frst published in John Betjeman’s 1934
Guide to Cornwall and reproduced in the 1964 version.
Courtesy the Betjeman Estate. 148
17. John Betjeman and Elizabeth Cavendish relax at ‘Treen’,
Betjeman’s house at Trebetherick, during the making of the
television version So ufm moned by Bells in 1976, produced to mark
the Poet Laureate’s seventieth birthCdoauyrt.e sy Jonathan Stedall. 168
18. John Betjeman wanders across tohwean s (sand dunes) at ‘his’
St Enodoc.C ourtesy Jonathan Stedall. 175
19. Sir John Betjeman, part of the Cornish scene – a poetry
reading by the Poet Laureate at Port Eliot, hosted by Lord
Eliot and the Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall, and introduced by
Dr A.L. Rowse. Courtesy Special Collections Library, University of
Exeter. 199
20. John Betjeman and Jonathan Stedall during the making of
the television seriTesime With Betjeman in 1983. Despite his
increasing disabilities, Betjeman is relaxed and contented in his
adopted CornwalClo.u rtesy Jonathan Stedall. 202
Payton, Betjeman and Cornwall.in10 10 02/09/2010 14:52:37Preface
I was one of the 8,000-strong ‘Betjemaniacs’ gathered at Carruan farm
in Cornwall in August 2006 to celebrate the hundredth birthday of Sir
John Betjeman, the late Poet Laureate. Situated high above Polzeath, with
tremendous views out to the azure Atlantic and the great headland of
Pentire, Carruan was, with its exhilarating sense of space, an inspirational
choice for this great event. I stood in the pasty-queue with the Archbishop
of Canterbury, watched the poetic performance of Bert Biscoe, and browsed
among the bookstalls in the hope of fnding second-hand copies of rare
Betjeman books to add to my collection. Here was that Patrick Taylor-Martin
volume that had eluded me for yearsB, eatjnemd an’s Britain – compiled by
Candida Lycett Green, Betjeman’s daughter – together wi