Countrymen: An illustrated talk and celebration in words and song

Event Information

Join Mike Pringle, Director of the Richard Jefferies Museum in Swindon and Friends of Lydiard Park Chair Sarah Finch-Crisp to explore how much these two Wiltshire countrymen had in common. One a farmer’s son who rose to fame and the other a reclusive aristocrat who found solace and amusement in the countryside and collecting butterflies.

Bolingbroke revered Richard Jefferies, who was noted for his depiction of English rural life and whose childhood home at Coate Water near Swindon provided the background to all his major works of fiction. Likewise Bolingbroke did not merely have a scientific interest in the natural world but a deep love of the old country ways and what he saw as an environment under threat.

We are delighted to be joined by David Phillips and Diana Bickley of Swindon Opera Collective who will be performing a selection of songs inspired by nature, including composers such as Poulenc and Gurney. Guest readers will bring our countrymen’s words to life, both men lyrical and passionate about wild life, both witnesses to a changing world, conscious of nature’s abundance and its fragility.

Countrymen takes place in the beautiful surroundings of the 18th century Hall of Lydiard House, the Bolingbroke’s former ancestral home. During the interval we will be serving delicious homemade canapes created for us by Lydiard’s resident hotel chef Marcus Vevey – all included in your ticket price.