May, next month, is Local History Month. Calne Library is looking at Calne's Blue Plaques, one of which commemorates the time the great Romantic Poet and Philosopher, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, lived and worked in Calne.
I was delighted to be asked to present my talk, "Coleridge in Wiltshire" in Calne Library at 2 pm on Tuesday 9th May.
People will need to contact the Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre to book. Tickets are £4, payable when booking. Telephone 01249 705500 (Tuesday, Wednesday or Friday) or email archives@wiltshire.gov.uk and they will get back to you.
Of the time Coleridge spent in Wiltshire, most of it was in part of an elegant Georgian terrace in Church Street opposite St Mary's Church.
Coleridge's achievements in Calne were awe-inspiring. He completed his seminal life work his "Biographia Literaria", prepared his collection of poems, "Sibylline Leaves", for publication, had his play "Remorse" performed at the Calne Theatre, wrote another play, "Zapolya", and even wrote the gloss on his "Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner".
Calne two hundred years ago had a thriving cattle market, slaughterhouses for pigs, a branch of the Wilts and Berks Canal, and was represented by two Members of Parliament.
In 1815, when the war with Napoleon ended at Waterloo", there was political turmoil. Coleridge "the celebrated poet" galvanised the people of Calne to petition Parliament opposing laws that kept the price of bread high.
Coleridge loved the beautiful countryside around Calne and made visits to his friends, the Bremhill parson-poet William Lisle Bowles, Lord Lansdowne at Bowood Park, Lord Methuen at Corsham House, and Dr Brabant in Devizes. In the summer of 1815 his 18 year old son Hartley stayed in Calne during his vacation from Oxford.
Calne in 1815 was an amazing town.
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