The Richard Jefferies Festival - 2011
The Richard Jefferies Festival is taking place this August 24th-28th in Swindon to celebrate the heritage of this extraordinary Victorian author.
Over the August Bank Holiday weekend the museum and beautiful Victorian gardens at Jefferies' birthplace, Coate, will be open to the public. There will be a full programme of events, walks and talks and activities for all ages to enjoy.
Celebrating 100 Years
This year's festival will celebrate the centenary of the first Richard Jefferies Festival - held in the gardens of the birthplace at Coate in 1911. Commemorative addresses were given by notable authors and celebrities, including the critic and author Edward Garnett, friend of Thomas Hardy, and Swindon-born author, Alfred Williams. Also present was the American artist Kate Tryon, a keen admirer of Jefferies who visited Wiltshire in the early twentieth century to paint his landscapes. In her journal Kate wrote that ‘the day was filled to overflowing with happy experiences’, and brought together people who were ‘keenly alive to [its] beauty and significance.’ On the day of the festival her paintings were exhibited in the boat-house on Coate Reservoir - the ‘New Sea’ that features in Jefferies’ children’s novel, Bevis.
The event was repeated in 1913.
The Richard Jefferies Society Poetry Competition for 2011-12 will be launched at the Festival.
Click here for the full festival programme.
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