The Housman Society Journal Vol.38 (Dec 2012)
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
The Housman Society Journal . Volume Thirty-eight 2012 Editor: David Butterfield The Housman Society 80 New Road Bromsgrove Worcestershire B60 2LA England Charity Number 100107 ISSN 0305-926X Website: http://www.housman-society.co.uk E-mail: [email protected] The illustration on the cover is from the drawing of A.E. Housman by Francis Dodd, 1926 Reproduced by courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery, London 1 HSJ11Final.p65 1 11/25/2012, 11:59 AM The Housman Society Founders John Pugh and Joe Hunt President Sir Christopher Ricks, MA, B Litt., FBA Vice-Presidents Professor Archie Burnett, MA, DPhil. Colin Dexter, OBE, MA ` Nicholas Earle, MA Christopher Edwards, MA Professor Benjamin Franklin Fisher IV Sir Geoffrey Hill, D Litt, FRSL Paul Naiditch, MA, MLS Professor Norman Page, MA, PhD, FRSCan Sir Tom Stoppard, OM, OBE Gerald Symons Chairman Jim C. Page, MBE, MA 80 New Road, Bromsgrove B60 2LA Vice Chairman Robin Shaw, BSc Honorary Treasurer Max Hunt, MA, Dip. Ed. Membership Secretary Kate Shaw, BA (Econ) 78 Kidderminster Road, Bromsgrove, Worcestershire B61 7LD Minuting Secretary Ann FitzGerald, BA (Hons) Editor of the Journal David Butterfield, MA, MPhil, PhD Queens’ College, Cambridge CB3 9ET Editor of the Newsletter Andrew J.M. Maund, MA, MPhil 57 Marlborough Avenue, Bromsgrove B60 2PH Committee Sonia French, BA Dip. Lib. Dip. Soc. Sci. Kate Linehan, MA Jennie McGregor-Smith Elizabeth Oakley, MA, LRAM, Dip. RSA Valerie Richardson 2 HSJ11Final.p65 2 11/25/2012, 11:59 AM Housman Society Journal Volume Thirty-Eight December 2012 Chairman’s Notes Jim Page 4 The Housman Lecture Michael Berkeley 8 Housman: A Cry Against the Wind Rob Macadie 26 Housman History 1500-1913 Julian Hunt 42 The Clock House that is Gone Robin Shaw 69 Moses Jackson’s Family Andrew Jackson 79 The Wild Green Hills of Wyre and Other Notes Andrew Breeze 89 The Housman-Rothenstein Connection Ian Rogerson 136 Materials for a new study of Housman’s journey through Manilius’ Astronomica Darrell Sutton 148 Limericks and A.E. Housman P.G. Naiditch 183 A.E. Housman and Babu English P.G. Naiditch 185 Terence, this is stupid stuff P.G. Naiditch 187 Corrections 189 Biographies of Contributors 190 The Housman Society and Journal 192 3 Chairman’s Notes 2012 Since Bromsgrove School have been the owners of Housman Hall and loaned it to the Society over the autumn half term, our triennial weekends have taken on a new lease of life, and there was such a buzz about the one that has just ended that one is tempted to say that it was the most stimulating yet. Certainly from the cards, letters and e-mails that I have received members seem to agree with that view. Every session – and there were ten of them – held our attention and the range of topics defied the notion that there was nothing more to say about A.E. Housman or indeed Laurence and Clem. The title for the Weekend was ‘The Housmans of Bromsgrove: Contexts and Perspectives’ and the breadth of the topics covered in the sessions on the Saturday fully embraced that title. We were plunged straight in to the heart of the Housmans with Linda Hart’s intriguing ‘A to Z of A.E.H’. She covered every aspect of Housman’s life in twenty-six succinct two and a half minute ‘bites’. Her research was impeccable, her opinions well considered, her delivery engaging and the content little short of brilliant. Here we had a summary of every aspect of Housman in 60 minutes – quite a feat! Andrew Maund followed and in his introduction to the members’ reading of Last Poems he summarised the background to Housman’s writing of this ‘slim volume’ and gave illuminating comments on some of the poems before we embarked on the reading. This was a genuinely moving occasion when all present had the chance (albeit subconsciously) to show how they thought poetry should be read. The variety was extraordinary and the resulting whole became a unifying experience for all members present. After lunch it was Laurence’s turn to take the limelight for Celia Jones brought her ‘Dear Mrs Ashbee’ programme in which Pamela Marsh read Laurence’s letters and Celia read what she imagined Janet might have replied. It was an intriguing dialogue and yet another side of Laurence’s character was opened up. One thing puzzled me – how extraordinary it is to think that this correspondence covered forty years, yet Laurence in his Unexpected Years does not mention Janet once and even C.R. Ashbee is only mentioned in perfunctory manner three times. After a short break we were into potentially the most intriguing session of all – for what was Nicholas Shrimpton, himself an unknown quantity in Housman circles, going to tell us about Victorian Pessimism and how would it relate to the Housman family? Our curiosity was quickly satisfied as his brilliant exposition of how the optimism of the eighteenth-century Enlightenment and the spiritually uplifting early Romantic movement declined into a so-called 4 ‘Victorian Pessimism’ by the second half of the nineteenth century. This he vividly placed in context and elucidated the dark world view of A.E. Housman’s A Shropshire Lad for his audience. It was indeed a pleasure to welcome Wendy Cope to our weekend and her session after tea had all the ingredients that one had hoped for. She began with her own poems and showing a healthy irreverence in a number of subjects, her description of the emotional shortcomings of men went down particularly well. Her articulation of the unhappiness of failed love affairs were moving too, because they were so obviously heartfelt - and it was good to hear her reading her classic two-verse poem about Housman, for who would have ever thought that there was yet another area in which A.E.H. would achieve immortality! A selection of her favourite Housman poems and an interesting question time concluded the last formal session of the day. A feature of these weekends is the catering arrangements whereby meals are served at round tables and discussion can follow on from topics covered during the conference. The service provided by Bromsgrove School’s Catering team was excellent and their menus were imaginative with the Barbue Housman provided for the main course of the Saturday dinner being just right for the occasion. Instead of speeches Elizabeth Oakley introduced a selection of parodies by Alfred, Laurence and members of the Society who had responded with wit and imagination to the challenge. David Butterfield was the first speaker on Sunday morning and his exposition of the life A.E.H. led at Cambridge was full of fascinating revelations, which we hope he will let us see in print in the Journal soon. Julian Hunt followed with a final tour de force in which he charted, by way of many dodgy family escapades (including bankruptcies and elopements), how the Housman Family came to Bromsgrove. In correcting many of the errors that John Pugh made in his Bromsgrove and the Housmans (1974) he explained how much easier research was now with the internet. The weekend had started on the Friday evening in Bromsgrove’s local arts centre with a complete performance of A Shropshire Lad by James Rutherford and Simon Lepper. Twenty-four of the poems were sung (the majority by the neglected C.W. Orr) and the rest read, and for the majority this was the greatest of successes. The minority, who regretted the absence of Butterworth, Somervell and Gurney, failed to realise that this was deliberate, since we had many of the well-known ones three years ago in Roderick Williams’ fine recital. The quality of James Rutherford’s interpretations of both the sung and read poems was superb and the projection on to a very large screen at the back of the stage of Gareth Thomas’s atmospheric photographs added an extra dimension 5 to a unique evening of poetry, song and picture that to my knowledge has never been produced before. The recital had been preceded by a stimulating talk before supper in Housman Hall from Valerie Langfield in which she analysed what makes a successful setting and in so doing introduced us to her discovery of Arthur Farwell (1872-1952), a composer who had set Housman to music two years before Somervell’s earliest setting. The Schools Poetry Reading Competition continues to have mixed fortunes and although this year – the competition takes place a week after the deadline for these notes - the Middle schools entry has been good, there has been a poor response from schools in the Senior and Sixth Form categories. James Jones, who is a House Parent at Housman Hall, joined us at the Annual General Meeting because he is studying the Victorian bachelor and offered to share his findings with our meeting. His talk produced much of interest and discussion flowed freely afterwards; it turned out to be a useful a preamble to the Weekend’s Victorian Pessimism session. The Dean of Worcester Cathedral, The Very Reverend Peter Atkinson, was our guest at the Commemoration of Housman’s birthday in Bromsgrove this year and with the weather being kind to us he was able to elaborate on his duties at the cathedral as well as having personal thoughts on Housman’s poetry. Ludlow’s Commemoration this year was followed by a tour of St Laurence’s with a special emphasis on the stained glass, and sitting down to lunch afterwards in this cathedral-like building was a special and unusual experience. Our sponsored lecture at Hay on The Name and Nature of Poetry was the fourteenth in the series and Michael Berkeley’s position as a composer gave him a very different view of the nature of poetry; his sub-title, ‘The Music of Loss’, chimed particularly well with Housman’s poetry and you will enjoy the transcript of what he said later in these pages.