Augustus John Cuthbert Hare (13 March 1834 – 22 January 1903) was an English writer and

raconteur A humorist (American) or humourist (British spelling) is an intellectual who uses humor, or wit, in writing or public speaking, but is not an artist who seeks only to elicit laughs. Humorists are distinct from comedians, who are show business ...

Early life

He was the youngest son of Francis George Hare of

Herstmonceux Herstmonceux ( , ; ) is a village and civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England, which includes Herstmonceux Castle. The Herstmonceux Medieval Festival is held annually in August. History The name comes from Anglo-Saxon ...

East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East Su ...

, and

Gresford Gresford (; cy, Gresffordd ) is a village and community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. According to the 2001 Census, the population of the community, which also includes the village of Marford, was 5,334, reducing to 5,010 at the 2011 cens ...

Flintshire , settlement_type = County , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , image_flag = , image_shield = Arms of Flint ...

, Wales, and nephew of

Augustus William Hare Augustus William Hare (17 November 1792 – 22 January 1834) was a British writer who was the author of a history of Germany. Life Hare was the son of Francis Hare-Naylor and his wife, the artist Georgiana, daughter of Jonathan Shipley, Bisho ...

and Julius Hare. Augustus Hare was born in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

; he was adopted by his aunt, the widow of Augustus Hare, and his parents renounced all further claim to him. His autobiography ''The Story of My Life'' details both a devotion to his adopted mother, Maria, and an intense unhappiness with his home education at

Buckwell Place Buckwell Place is a Grade II* listed country house in Herstmonceux, East Sussex, England. A former rectory, the original wing of the house was built in 1792 by Reverend Robert Hare, whose family owned Herstmonceux Castle. A parlour wing was added b ...

. He spent one year at

Harrow School (The Faithful Dispensation of the Gifts of God) , established = (Royal Charter) , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school , religion = Church of E ...

in 1847 but left due to ill health. In 1853, he matriculated at

University College, Oxford University College (in full The College of the Great Hall of the University of Oxford, colloquially referred to as "Univ") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It has a claim to being the oldest college of the univer ...

, graduating in 1857 with a BA.

Career

Hare was the author of a large number of books, which fall into two classes: biographies of members and connections of his family, and descriptive and historical accounts of various countries and cities. To the first belong ''Memorials of a Quiet Life'' (about his adoptive mother), ''Story of Two Noble Lives'' (about Countess Canning and the Marchioness of Waterford, sisters and artists), ''The Gurneys of Earlham'' (about the

Gurney family A stretcher, gurney, litter, or pram is an apparatus used for moving patients who require medical care. A basic type (cot or litter) must be carried by two or more people. A wheeled stretcher (known as a gurney, trolley, bed or cart) is often ...

of bankers and social reformers of

Earlham Hall Earlham Hall is a country house in Norfolk, England. It is located just to the west of the city of Norwich, on Earlham Road, on the outskirts of the village of Earlham. For generations it was the home of the Gurney family. The Gurneys were known ...

near Norwich), and an autobiography in six volumes. This last included a number of accounts of encounters with ghosts. A reviewer in the ''New York Times'' concluded that "Mr Hare's ghosts are rather more interesting than his lords or his middle-class people". He also compiled numerous travel books, including a couple for John Murray, as well as many others under his own name, such as ''Walks in Rome'', ''Walks in London'', ''Wanderings in Spain'', ''Cities of Northern, Southern, and Central Italy'' (separate works), ''Days near Rome'' and ''Sussex''. Hare was a friend to the barrister Basil Levett and his wife Lady Mary Levett, the daughter of the

Earl of Shaftesbury Earl of Shaftesbury is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1672 for Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 1st Baron Ashley, a prominent politician in the Cabal then dominating the policies of King Charles II. He had already succeeded his f ...

, to whom Hare left a painting in his will. ("Basil

Levett Levett is a surname of Anglo-Norman origin, deriving from eLivet, which is held particularly by families and individuals resident in England and British Commonwealth territories. Origins This surname comes from the village of Livet-en-Ouche, no ...

or his wife Lady Margaret Copy of the Last Communion of S Jerome by

Domenichino Domenico Zampieri (, ; October 21, 1581 – April 6, 1641), known by the diminutive Domenichino (, ) after his shortness, was an Italian Baroque painter of the Bolognese School of painters. Life Domenichino was born in Bologna, son of a shoem ...

.")

Holmhurst

He spent his money on purchasing and refurbishing a house near Hastings, which he named Holmhurst St Mary. In his biography of

Somerset Maugham William Somerset Maugham ( ; 25 January 1874 – 16 December 1965) was an English writer, known for his plays, novels and short stories. Born in Paris, where he spent his first ten years, Maugham was schooled in England and went to a German un ...

, writer Ted Morgan mentions that Hare, whom he refers to as "the last Victorian," befriended Maugham who became a frequent guest at his country house, Holmhurst in

Baldslow Baldslow is a suburb in the north of Hastings, East Sussex, England. It is sometimes considered part of Conquest as Bohemia and Silverhill. The area lies on the A21 and the Hastings ring road, and the A28 road junction with the A21. Ore ...

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

. After his death, the house was taken by Admiral Sir

Lewis Beaumont Admiral Sir Lewis Anthony Beaumont, (19 May 1847 – 20 June 1922) was a Royal Navy officer who served as Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth. Naval career Beaumont joined the Royal Navy as a boy in 1860 and was engaged in operations in Malaya by ...

and family, and then from 1908 Sir

John Gordon Kennedy Sir John Gordon Kennedy, (18 July 1836 – 2 December 1912) was a British diplomat. Career Kennedy was born in 1836, the son of John Kennedy (d. 1845) and his wife Amelia Maria Briggs (d. 1896). His father had been the British Chargé d'affai ...

and family. At some point after this the estate was purchased by the

Community of the Holy Family The Community of the Holy Family (CHF) is an Anglican religious order of nuns, originally founded in the Church of England, but now active in Italy and the United States. History In England In origin, the community was formed of well educated you ...

, an Anglican order of teaching nuns, with a focus on art and scholarship. Their mother foundress,

Agnes Morton Agnes Morton (6 March 1872 – 5 April 1952) was a British female tennis player. She twice reached the Ladies Singles finals at the 1908 and 1909 Wimbledon Championships and claimed victory in 1914 in Ladies Doubles with partner Elizabeth Ryan ...

, who had formed the community in London in 1896 and later brought it to Sussex, recognised the house and gardens as a piece of Italy – specifically Florence – in England. The girls' school that the nuns ran there, from the 1930s to the 1980s, was known as St Mary's Convent School on the Ridge.Miss Hortin-Smith by Joanna Lumley , Tes News
accessdate: 1 July 2020 Its best-known pupil was

Joanna Lumley Dame Joanna Lamond Lumley (born 1 May 1946) is an English actress, presenter, former model, author, television producer, and activist. She has won two BAFTA TV Awards for her role as Patsy Stone in the BBC sitcom ''Absolutely Fabulous'' (1992 ...

, an "Army brat" who boarded in the 1960s: "I especially loved my second boarding school, an Anglo-Catholic convent in the hills behind Hastings. The nuns wore blue stockings and were brainy and lovely. There were 70 boarders and I was happy as a clam." Hare died unmarried in 1903, and was buried in

Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

List of works

Travel guides: *''A Handbook for Travellers in Berks, Bucks and Oxfordshire'', (John Murray, 1860) *''A Winter at Mentone'', (Wertheim, Macintosh & Hunt, 1862) *''A Handbook for Travellers in Northumberland and Durham'', (John Murray, 1863) *''Walks in Rome'', (Daldy, Isbister & Co., 1871) 2 vols. *''Wanderings in Spain'', (Strahan & Co., 1873) *''Days Near Rome'', (Daldy, Isbister & Co., 1875) 2 vols. *''Cities of Northern Italy'', (Daldy, Isbister & Co., 1876) 2 vols. *''Walks in London'', (Daldy, Isbister & Co., 1878) *''Cities of Southern Italy and Sicily'', (Smith, Elder & Co., 1883) - Sicily revised in separate volume in 1905 by St. Clair Baddeley *''Cities of Central Italy'', (Smith, Elder & Co., 1884) 2 vols. *''Florence'', (Smith, Elder & Co., 1884) *''Venice'', (Smith, Elder & Co., 1884) *''Sketches in Holland and Scandinavia'', (George Allen, 1885) *''Studies in Russia'', (Smith, Elder & Co., 1885) *''Paris'', (Smith, Elder & Co., 1887) 2 vols. *''Days Near Paris'', (Smith, Elder & Co., 1887) *''South-Eastern France'', (George Allen & Unwin, 1890) *''South-Western France'', (George Allen & Unwin, 1890) *''North-Eastern France'', (George Allen & Unwin, 1890) *''Sussex'', (1894) *''North-Western France (Normandy and Brittany)'', (George Allen, 1895) *''The Rivieras'', (George Allen, 1896) *''Shropshire'', (George Allen, 1898) Autobiography: *''The Story of My Life'', (George Allen, 1896-1900) 6 vols. Biography: *''Memorials of a Quiet Life'', (Strahan & Co., 1872–76) 3 vols. *''Life and Letters of Frances, Baroness Bunsen'', (Daldy, Isbister & Co., 1879) 2 vols. *''The Story of Two Noble Lives: being Memorials of

Charlotte, Countess Canning Charlotte Canning, Countess Canning (''née'' Stuart; 31 March 1817 – 18 November 1861) was a British artist and the first vicereine of India. She was one of India's most prolific women artists – two portfolios in the Victoria and Albert Mu ...

, and

Louisa, Marchioness of Waterford Louisa Anne Beresford, Marchioness of Waterford (née Stuart; 14 April 1818 – 12 May 1891) was a Pre-Raphaelite watercolourist and philanthropist. Biography Born in Paris, she was the daughter of Charles Stuart, 1st Baron Stuart de Rothe ...

'', (George Allen, 1893) 3 vols. *''Life and Letters of

Maria Edgeworth Maria Edgeworth (1 January 1768 – 22 May 1849) was a prolific Anglo-Irish novelist of adults' and children's literature. She was one of the first realist writers in children's literature and was a significant figure in the evolution of the n ...

'', (Edward Arnold, 1894) - as editor *''The Gurneys of Earlham'', (George Allen, 1895) 2 vols. *''Biographical Sketches: being Memorials of

Arthur Penrhyn Stanley Arthur Penrhyn Stanley, (13 December 1815 – 18 July 1881), known as Dean Stanley, was an English Anglican priest and ecclesiastical historian. He was Dean of Westminster from 1864 to 1881. His position was that of a Broad Churchman and he wa ...

, Dean of Westminster,

Henry Alford Henry Alford (7 October 181012 January 1871) was an English churchman, theologian, textual critic, scholar, poet, hymnodist, and writer. Life Alford was born in London, of a Somerset family, which had given five consecutive generations of cl ...

, Dean of Canterbury, Mrs. Duncan Stewart etc.'', (George Allen, 1895) Other: *''Epitaphs for Country Churchyards. Collected and Arranged'', (John Henry & James Parker, 1856) *''Letters to Crown-Prince

Gustav V Gustaf V (Oscar Gustaf Adolf; 16 June 1858 – 29 October 1950) was King of Sweden from 8 December 1907 until his death in 1950. He was the eldest son of King Oscar II of Sweden and Sophia of Nassau, a half-sister of Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxe ...

'' (unpublished) - he had conducted the future King on a tour of Rome *''Last Will and Testament'' (unpublished)

Notes

References

*Barnes, Malcolm. ''Augustus Hare. Victorian Gentleman'', (Allen & Unwin, 1985) *Hare, Augustus; Barnes, Malcolm (ed.) ''In My Solitary Life'', (George Allen, 1953) *Hare, Augustus; Barnes, Malcolm (ed.) ''The Years with Mother'', (George Allen, 1952) * *

External links

The Augustus Hare Society
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hare, Augustus Hare, Augustus John Cuthbert English travel writers English memoirists Hare, Augustus John Cuthbert Hare, Augustus John Cuthbert 1834 births 1903 deaths Italian emigrants to the United Kingdom People from Herstmonceux