Phil Gillam: A long and winding yarn about Mary Webb

Okay. Bear with me. There is a connection.

Or at least: there might be.

But first: Mary.

"The chief singer of summer is the grass; it is the very voice of Earth, taking us into her confidence."

So wrote the wonderful Shropshire novelist, Mary Webb (1881-1927), a much-loved romantic writer whose life and work is to be celebrated this summer in a new exhibition in our county town.

The Shrewsbury Railway Heritage Trust will be hosting the exhibition at its renovated Abbey Foregate railway station in August – when “the chief singer of summer” should be in full voice.

Only trouble is “the chief singer of summer” could be drowned out by the hissing and chugging of working steam engines which will be on show at the event, helping to evoke the spirit of Mary’s celebrated work, Gone To Earth.

The steam engines and other era-related machinery will be on display outside the old railway station thanks to the co-operation of the County of Salop Steam Engine Society.

We’ll also be able to enjoy a Mary Webb Society display (inside the station) illustrating the author’s life and work, maps of Shropshire depicting the locations Mary used in her acclaimed books, and also a map detailing the places used in the 1950 feature film adaptation of Gone To Earth, which starred the beautiful Hollywood actress Jennifer Jones and was directed and produced by the legendary film-making partnership of Powell and Pressburger.

On the day, there will also be many photographs and artefacts shedding further light upon Mary’s life.

David Morris of the Shrewsbury Railway Heritage Trust explained: “Many of our members and supporters not only love the county of Shropshire, but are also enthusiastic and knowledgeable local historians. I know it is a generalisation, but people who are passionate about Shropshire’s landscape do also tend to be big fans of Mary Webb’s work.”

He added that the threshing machinery used at harvesting time in Mary’s day (and seen in the film of Gone To Earth) will be represented at the exhibition, bringing to life the times about which she wrote.

The novelist was born in Leighton, a village south of Shrewsbury and near the Wrekin.

After getting married in 1912 (at Meole Brace’s Holy Trinity Church), she and her husband went to live in Weston-super-Mare, but she missed Shropshire – her spiritual home – and they returned to the county in 1914.

In 1917, Mary’s husband, Henry, secured a job at the Priory School in Shrewsbury and Mary was able to realise a dream when they acquired a small bungalow at Lyth Hill called Spring Cottage. She loved Lyth Hill and would spend hours in quiet meditation of her surroundings, gathering information to include in later novels or poems. It was here Mary wrote The House in Dormer Forest in 1920 and many of her poems.

Her other notable works include the novels, The Golden Arrow and Precious Bane.

Oh, and - by the way - if you’re an admirer of Mary Webb, there is of course a Mary Webb Society. Find out more about this at www.marywebbsociety.co.uk

Anyway, I for one won’t want to miss this exhibition in August.

So – don’t forget – make a note in your diary now – August 6, from 10am through to 4pm at the restored Abbey Foregate railway station, admission free. Further details: shrewsburyrailwayheritage.com or email srht1860@outlook.com

Okay … onto Greyfriars Bridge. And it’s my guess (and experts please correct me if I’m wrong) that Mary Webb will have known this bridge well, the footbridge (built 1879) that crosses the river, linking Coleham to the town centre.

As a girl, Mary had lived with her parents in Meole Brace, so she might well have used the bridge during those days to get into town. And, years later, when she and her husband returned to Shropshire, the couple worked as market gardeners for a while and sold produce in Shrewsbury Market – so perhaps she used the bridge again then … or am I just being fanciful?

Either way, I need to tell you that the bridge has a whole new look!

As part of Belle Vue Arts Festival, a group of ladies have decided to continue the 'bunting' theme at Coleham by "yarn bombing" Greyfriars bridge.

In other words, they've decorated it with knitting, crochet and other yarn-related things.

Crazy but true!

I wonder if Mary Webb was into knitting at all.