Literary Past

Discover literary greats in South Oxfordshire

England has been graced with a wealth of poets, writers and critics throughout history and many of these have a close link with South Oxfordshire.

The ancestors of the poet John Milton are believed to have come from Great Milton. Milton’s own father lived at Stanton St John, where the poet’s grandparents are buried and his father is thought to have been employed as a ranger in Shotover Forest, now part of Shotover Park.

The poet William Shenstone once stayed the night at the Red Lion in Henley and scratched into one of the window panes -

Who e’er has travelled life’s dull round
Wher e’er his stages may have been,
May sigh to think he still has found
The warmest welcome at an inn.

Alfred Lord Tennyson married Emily Sellwood in 1850 at Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Shiplake. The church, which still stands today, is now an important part of Shiplake College.

Kenneth Grahame, author of Wind in the Willows, created the characters of Ratty, Badger, Mole and Toad as a series of bedtime stories for his son Alistair. The story is set on and around the Thames near Mapledurham, where it is thought that the rosy brick Mapledurham House inspired Grahame.

The Barley Mow at Clifton Hampden features in the novel ’Three men and a boat’ by Jerome K Jerome. The pub was severely damaged by a fire in 1975 but was restored to resemble how it appeared in the novel.

The Innkeepers Diary by John Fothergill is based on his experiences of being an innkeeper when he ran the Spread Eagle in Thame. GB Shaw, HG Wells, Evelyn Waugh, GK Chesterton and JIM Stewart were regular patrons to the pub.

Irish author Robert Gibbons died at Long Wittenham and is buried in the local churchyard.

Agatha Christie was also a South Oxfordshire resident. She lived with her husband for over 40 years at Winterbrook House near Wallingford and is buried in the churchyard at nearby Cholsey.

South Oxfordshire’s current literary prowess is equally as strong, as demonstrated by the luminaries lining up for Henley’s Literary Festival from September 21-23 inclusive.

Described as "a three-day celebration of the written word," it features 100 authors taking part in 60 events at eight different locations.

The list of authors taking part just goes on and on and includes: Martin Bell, Gyles Brandreth, Eleanor Bron, Craig Brown, Lucy Cavendish, Clarissa Dickson Wright, Matthew Engel, Marie Helvin, General Sir Mike Jackson, Boris Johnson, Richard Littlejohn, John Mortimer, Peter Oborne, Anna Pasternak and Jeremy Paxman. Mike Atherton and Bob Wilson are among those representing sport.