Chairman Nina Swift 01458 443881 : Secretary Deanne Silmon 01458 443284 : Membership Catherine Atkins 01458 443055
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Walter Raymondby Anne BileyWalter Raymond first saw the light of day in 1852 in Yeovil. His father, Cuthbert, was a glove manufacturer. The family were originally yeoman farmers who lost all their land in the depression following the Napoleonic wars. When he was two he almost died of typhoid fever, a delicate, only child. His mother and elder sister both unfortunately succumbed to the disease. In the summer of 1854 he was sent to Marston Magna to recover in the schoolhouse with his grandmother and aunt. During this time his companions were the village children. The seeds of his love for outdoor pursuits, and the countryside, must have been sown here and told as "Early Reminiscences" in "Under the Spreading Chestnut Tree". His father remarried, this time a widow with six children and Walter became very fond of Emma whom he called his "little sister". He was sent to school at Sherborne and eventually joined his father in his now prosperous gloving business, but his heart was elsewhere. Visiting the factory's outworkers in surrounding villages was a chance to observe the country life and characters. "Gentleman Upcott's Daughter" was almost certainly based on these visits. He met and married Mary Johnston in 1878. It was love at first sight and they went on to have five daughters and three sons. After his father Cuthbert's retirement, they all moved into the family home in Vicarage Street, Yeovil (now Quedam). Fond of "his little crowd" he was a tolerant father, allowing them freedom and independence - unusual at that time. He began to write articles and poems for local papers and longed to follow a literary career, writing about the rural folk of Somerset, but with so many mouths to feed the glove factory was uppermost. After the publication in 1888 of "Misterton's Mistake", he at last retired from business, and moved his family to Preston Plucknett, where his literary career began in earnest, "General Upcott's Daughter" set in Queen Camel, is considered the best. Vivid with life and humour, it produced a stir in the literary world. He also contributed to the Spectator, Country Life, and the Daily Mail. In 1906, Methuen published his "School History of Somerset", illustrated with photographs by his friend in Street, John Bright Clark of Overleigh House. (later published as "A Short History of Somerset"). He admired the Dorset poet, William Barnes, and travelled the country giving recitals in dialect. Walter had a beautiful voice, clear and controlled and it was said that to hear him recite Barnes's Dorset poem of the "Zettle an' the girt 'ood Vire" was as good as being in an old farmhouse kitchen! After a lecture on William Barnes in Dorchester, he had an appreciative letter from Thomas Hardy, but the two never met. He gave his last recital in the year before he died in 1931. The family left Preston Plucknett for Maida Vale in 1905, but he yearned for Somerset. He rented a cottage at Withypool on Exmoor (now known as "Raymond's Cottage"), where his happiest times were spent writing, sketching, studying bird life and cooking his own meals. His family spent holidays there with him but his solitude was frequently interrupted by visitors drawn to his success. While in Withypool he joined Cecil Sharp and the Rev. Charles Marson of Hambridge in their search for folk songs. He became a member of the Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society, and took an interest in the Ham Hill excavations and Glastonbury and Meare Lake Villages. A Roman pot he found at Preston Plucknett is in Taunton Museum. He loved walking and spent whole days in the open air. In 1912 his wife died. Events led to a spiritual crisis in his life and found expression in "A Wayfaring Soul" - he called it his "Swan Song". During the 1914-18 war he lectured in army camps, hospitals, canteens etc.., and went as often as possible to see his eldest daughter, Gladys, in Southampton. In 1918 he moved to a large house, West Court, now Stowey Court Farm, in Nether Stowey where he gardened, read extensively and began a study of children's singing games, which also interested Mrs John Bright Clark. He painted in pastels and water colours, but finished little literary work. His daughter in Southampton was widowed in 1923 and Walter spent more and more time with her and his grandchildren. He even began a new novel. In 1925, he found the Nether Stowey house too big and lonely. He had great friends in Street and moved into Little Cottage, Wraxhill "a small just-built cottage with all sorts of modern conveniences... recently some friends have built me this and I have it for my life for free... Wells and the Mendips, about six miles, with plenty of motor buses." He settled happily in Street surrounded by his friends, many of them Quakers whose simplicity of life he admired. He planted an apple orchard and looked forward to the season of "apple blewth". It was the Bishop of Bath and Wells who referred to him as "Somerset's Thomas Hardy" at a dinner of the Society of Somerset Folk. "Two Men o' Mendip" was one of the most important things in his life - it was put on at Bristol's Little Theatre, also in Wells and Street. On 7th May, 1927 the second act of the play was produced for the Rural Community Council Drama Competition in Wells, gaining both first place and the Clark Challenge Cup for the best production. In March 1928, C & J Clark’s Dramatic Society produced "Two Men", being coached in dialect by Raymond himself "the players being all factory employees, surpassed my expectations"! Sadly it was rejected by London Theatre Managers to his great chagrin, although it was produced once in the suburbs. He suffered a slight stroke in 1930 and his friends the Clarks sent him in their own car to spend six months in Southampton with his daughter. As winter approached he felt that Street was "a place with cold winds". He died in Southampton on 3rd April 1931. Before his death he gave his table on which Cowper wrote "The Task" to Roger Clark, who loaned it to Street Library until 1970, when it was loaned to the Cowper and Newton Museum, Olney, Bucks. He gave to his friends John and Evelyn Bright Clark, a carved oak Bible Box in which William Barnes had kept his dialect texts. Nowadays Walter Raymond is largely forgotten, but it was said that "he could play with no uncertain touch on the very heart strings of the good folk of Ciderland". In 1933, Evelyn Bright Clark compiled a fitting tribute to him in "Walter Raymond - the man, his work and letters," which included "Somerset and her Folk Movement" by Walter Raymond. In her introduction she says "the old world customs in which he delighted have gone - there is no time for them now." Walter’s own words were "my heart is always in the fields and with the folk". A selection of his works are available on request at Street Public Library, and there is a memorial plaque to him in Yeovil Public Library. His ashes now rest in Yeovil cemetery, beside those of his dear wife Mary. Anne Biley
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