Eggesford
Encyclopedia
Eggesford is a village in mid-Devon
. It is served by Eggesford railway station
on the Exeter
to Barnstaple
railway line, also known as the Tarka Line
.
It is home to the Chichester
family, Earl of Portsmouth
(and the families of Fellowes
and Wallop
).
John Christie
, the founder of Glyndebourne Opera Festival, was born here in 1882.
Three years later, Thomas Hardy
came to Eggesford, and left a description in one of his letters to his wife, dated 13 March 1885:
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
. It is served by Eggesford railway station
Eggesford railway station
Eggesford railway station is a rural station on the serving the village of Eggesford and surrounding villages in Devon, England. Despite its name, the station is actually in the neighbouring civil parish of Chawleigh...
on the Exeter
Exeter
Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...
to Barnstaple
Barnstaple
Barnstaple is a town and civil parish in the local government district of North Devon in the county of Devon, England, UK. It lies west southwest of Bristol, north of Plymouth and northwest of the county town of Exeter. The old spelling Barnstable is now obsolete.It is the main town of the...
railway line, also known as the Tarka Line
Tarka Line
The Tarka Line is a railway line from Exeter to Barnstaple in Devon, England. The line follows the River Creedy, River Yeo and River Taw for some of its route...
.
It is home to the Chichester
Chichester
Chichester is a cathedral city in West Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, South-East England. It has a long history as a settlement; its Roman past and its subsequent importance in Anglo-Saxon times are only its beginnings...
family, Earl of Portsmouth
Earl of Portsmouth
Earl of Portsmouth is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1743 for John Wallop, 1st Viscount Lymington, who had previously represented Hampshire in the House of Commons. He had already been created Baron Wallop, of Farleigh Wallop in Hampshire in the County of Southampton,...
(and the families of Fellowes
Fellowes
Fellowes, Inc. is a manufacturer of office products including paper shredders, binding and laminating equipment, desktop accessories, technology accessories, and record storage boxes...
and Wallop
Wallop
Wallop was originally designed as an Internet social network service tracing its origins from Microsoft Research. As a startup, the company behind Wallop was backed by $13 million from Microsoft and venture capitalists including Norwest Venture Partners, Bay Partners and Consor Capital.While the...
).
John Christie
John Christie (Glyndebourne)
John Christie, CH, MC was an English landowner and producer. He was the founder of the Glyndebourne Opera House and the Glyndebourne Festival Opera at his home at Glyndebourne, near Lewes in Sussex in 1934....
, the founder of Glyndebourne Opera Festival, was born here in 1882.
Three years later, Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy, OM was an English novelist and poet. While his works typically belong to the Naturalism movement, several poems display elements of the previous Romantic and Enlightenment periods of literature, such as his fascination with the supernatural.While he regarded himself primarily as a...
came to Eggesford, and left a description in one of his letters to his wife, dated 13 March 1885:
broughamBrougham (carriage)A brougham was a light, four-wheeled horse-drawn carriage built in the 19th century. It was either invented for Scottish jurist Henry Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux, Lord Chancellor of Great Britain, or simply made fashionable by his example...
waiting to take me up to the house, so there was no trouble at all. The scenery here is lovely and the house very handsome, which is on a hill in the park. I have had tea with Lady Portsmouth and the ladies-the only members of the family at home-Lord Portsmouth not having returned from the hunting yet (6 p.m.). The young ladies are very attractive,and interested in what I tell them-Lady Portsmouth charges them to take care of me-and goes away to her parish people, etc. altogether a delightful household. There are ladies here too, visiting, but of course I have only had a glimpse as yet. They sympathize with you - and Lady Portsmouth says you MUST come when you are well. I am now in the library writing this. I should say that a married daughter,Lady Rosamond Christie, I think she is,who is here, strikes me as a particularlarly sensible woman. If Lady Portsmouth's orders are to be carried out my room will be like a furnace - she is so particularly anxious that I should not take cold, etc.The drawing room is lined with oak panels from a monastery. When I arrived the schoolchildren were practisising singing in the hall, for Sunday in Church
- In haste (as you will believe)
- yours ever
- Tom