Wrington Website The Lives of John Locke & Hannah More by Lillian Millard of Wrington |
Introductory note by Lillian Millard To celebrate the revival of the "Old Village Fair' it was suggested to Although John Locke was born but never lived here, his maternal ancestors did and Hannah More lived here for 32 years, and her |
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The Life of Hannah More EARLY DAYS |
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Hannah joined her
sisters when she was about sixteen. She was very popular viith
the pupils. She was not satisfied with the kind of literature
available for young ladies, so she set about writing poems, little
plays and Bible stories for them. These were appreciated by the
parents of her pupils. LONDON LIFE |
teaching |
Her letters abound with news of these events. She had dinner at the home of Mrs.Montague (a member of the Blue Stocking Ladies (Bas Bleus) which later Hannah was invited to join. This group of intelligentsia held conversazione at regular intervals. The guest list included Mrs.Carter, Dr.Samuel Johnson, Mrs.Boscowan, Sir Joshua Reynolds and sister Francis, both artists of renown. (The portrait painted by Francis of the young Hannah now hangs in the art gallery in Bristol) The Lord Chancellor gave a dinner in Hannah's honour where she met many politicians whose cause she supported over the years with her writings. Sir Horace Walpole, Edmund Burke, Sir Richard Ackland and William Wilberforce were amongst those with whom Hannah formed firm, lifelong friendships. |
blue stockings
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Hannah's
second play of five acts (another tragedy) The Fatal Falsehood
was put on the next year, at Covent Garden theatre. She seemed
all set for a career as a dramatist but then came the death of
David Garrick, on January 20th, 1779, and after this, her taste
for the fashionable life waned. The funeral of David Garrick was not without a traumatic incident for Hannah. Admission to the service and interment in Westminster Abbey was by ticket only, because of the expected throng. Hannah wrote: "We (Miss Cadogan arid I) went to Charing Cross to see the melancholy procession; we received tickets from the Bishop of Rochester to admit us. We hurried away in a Hackney coach, dreading to be late... the bell of St.Martin's smote upon my soul. When we got there, we found multitudes striving for admission. We gave up our tickets to a man, but we ought to have kept them. We followed the man who unlocked a door or iron and directly closed it upon us and two or three more. We found ourselves in a tower with dark winding steps fifty or more. When we got to the top, we ran down again, called and beat on the door, but there we stayed for half an hour, nay we thought, never to be let out, to starve ! We might perish!" At length they were let out, exhausted and distressed, convinced their rescuer they were friends of Garrick and the Bishop, and were taken to an anteroom. There given wine to restore them and they were found a seat in the Abbey overlooking the grave. The adulation Hannah received did not turn her head. She kept her feet firmly on the ground, her interest in the Church and her spiritual life strengthened, meeting the leading churchmen of her day. Her memoirs are strewn with their names. She held long and deep discussions with Bishop John Newton, who became a staunch friend and mentor over the next few years. He became her trusted advisor in many grave situations in later life, for she was living in troublesome times. Both the French wars and American civil war took place during her lifetime. Nothing would persuade Hannah to take part in revelry on a Sunday. This became well known and was respected. She would retire to her room even when with her beloved friends, the Garricks, who often held musical Sunday evenings. Her Sunday was devoted to church worship and spiritual refreshment. London life began to lose its interest for her as she disliked much of society and wrote quite forcefully against it in the book entitled Manners cf the Great. She decided to write no more plays and to retire to Bristol and Pulteney Street, Bath and to search for a country retreat. Hannah seemed to crave for peace and solitude. All through her life, she suffered a great deal from sick headaches and more serious illnesses; possibly today we would say it was a migraine. Whatever it was, it would lay her very low for a while. She found a country retreat at Cowslip Green, Wrington, and had what she describes as a little thatched cottage, nestling under the Mendip Hills in Somerset. She moved in, in 1785. She entertained famous friends from time to time, tidied the garden and wrote. The life was peaceful, until the visit of William Wilberforce. It was his remark, "Oh! Miss Hannah, we must do something for the poor children of Cheddar" which precipitated the start of some amazing work. |
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Continue reading about Hannah Cowslip Green | |||||