W. H. Hudson's English Country Rambles: A Chronology Derived Mainly from His Published and Unpublished Correspondence

W. H. Hudson's English Country Rambles: A Chronology Derived Mainly from His Published and Unpublished Correspondence DENNIS SHRUBSALL Dunster, Somerset, England THOUGH RELYING ON his country rambles for subject material, seldom do W. H. Hudson's published writings contain a complete and cohesive account of a journey. Essentially an essayist, he wrote only of events that interested him: to reconstruct his journeys one has to resort to the correspondence that has survived his latter years' compulsion to incinerate his papers. (For details of the correspondence, see my article "Updating W. H. Hudson's Bibliography, II: Correspondence and Books," 31:4, 1988.) Hudson had more than a usual aversion to ageing and recording the passage of time. From 1900 onwards seldom did he write a complete date on a letter, usually omitting the year. Therefore, in the Chronology few of the dates for the years can be attributed to him; those of the published letters have been assigned mostly by their editors, and those of the unpublished mostly by me with some discrepancies noted in the former. Though every care has been taken it is not, of course, impossible that subsequent researchers may disprove some of my dates. It is pertinent to record also that during fifteen or more years devoted exclusively to studying Hudson, I have visited all, and photographed most, of the English locales. Abbreviations Wilfrid Blunt Bit William Canton Ctn Linda Gardiner Gdr Edward Garnett Gnt Algernon Gissing A.Gng George Gissing G.Gng R. B. Cunninghame Graham Ghm Rudge Harding Hdg Emily (Mrs. W. H.) Hudson Emy Emma Hubbard Hbd Mrs. Lemon Lmn Mr. Lemon Lmn (Mr.) Eliza Phillips PIp Grant Richards Red Ranee of Sarawak (Lady Margaret Brooke) Rne Morley Roberts Rbt Herbert (later viscount) Samuel SmI Ethel Williams Wmn Mary Trevelyan Tvn 65 ELT: Volume 33:1, 1990 CHRONOLOGY 1890 29 Aug-12 Sept Holidaying with Morley Roberts at Shoreham, W. Sussex. Lodged at 23 New Road; Roberts next door. Obviously his first visit to Shoreham because he describes both village and beach to his wife. On 29 Sept he and Roberts rescued three girls from drowning in the sea. [Emy 30 Aug 1890, Emy 3 Sept 1890, Emy 4 Sept 1890, Emy 10 Sept 1890, PIp 20 Oct 1890] 1891 Aug In Shoreham, W. Sussex, duration unknown. Is "trying to pick up a little strength here in this peaceful village." [Ctn 19 Aug 1891] 1892 14-21 April Rambling in Kent with his wife. Spent night of 14 April at Tonbridge; remainder of time lodged at 34 Crescent Road, Tunbridge Wells. Visited Frant on 15 April, and Penshurst. [Pip 17 April 1892] 4 June for some weeks Lodging at Midway Cottages, Cookham Dean, Berkshire. His wife accompanied him from 4-9 June. He is finishing Idle Days in Patagonia, and writing Birds in a Village. [Pip 3 June 1892 , Ctn 2 Feb 1893] 24 Aug-7 Sept Holidaying with his wife on Hayling Island, Hampshire; lodging at Earnley House, Commercial Road, South Hayling. [Pip 31 Aug 1892) 1893 25 Aug-10 or 11 Sept Holidaying with his wife in Dorset. Lodged at Swanage and rambled about the surrounding countryside from 25 Aug till about 7 Sept. Visited Abbotsbury swannery and Chesil Bank on 8 Sept, and were in Weymouth on the following day having passed through Dorchester by train. [G.Gng 17 Aug 1893, G.Gng 9 Sept 1893] 21-22 Oct Lodging at Kirklington Park, Oxfordshire, as guest of Mrs Close, "a cousin of the late Dean Stanley". Spent a couple of hrs in Oxford on his way home to London. [Pip 22 Oct 1893, Pip 23 Oct 1893] Note: To George Gissing on 15 Oct 1893 Hudson wrote that he and his wife are generally away from home from Saturday to Monday; but sadly there are no records of these outings. 1894 March and April Periods in Cookham Dean, Berkshire, and Haselmere, Surrey; dates and durations unknown. With his wife lodged at the Old School House, Ockley, Surrey 26-29 March while rambling about the surrounding countryside. [Pip 26 March 1894, G.Gng 14 May 1894] 25 May-about 6 June In Surrey; at Farnham for two days, then Churt for...