Kilvert's Diary
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Robert Francis Kilvert (3 December 184023 September 1879), known as Francis or Frank, was an English clergyman whose diaries reflected rural life in the 1870s, and were published over fifty years after his death.


Life

Kilvert was born on 3 December 1840 at The Rectory, Hardenhuish Lane, near
Chippenham Chippenham is a market town in north-west Wiltshire, England. It lies north-east of Bath, Somerset, Bath, west of London and is near the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The town was established on a crossing of the River Avon, ...
, Wiltshire, to the Rev. Robert Kilvert, rector of
Langley Burrell Langley Burrell is a village in the civil parish of Langley Burrell Without, just north of Chippenham, Wiltshire, England. It is the largest settlement in the parish, which includes the hamlets of Peckingell (south of the village) and Kellaways ...
, Wiltshire, and Thermuthis, daughter of Walter Coleman and Thermuthis Ashe. He was educated privately in
Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...
by his uncle,
Francis Kilvert Robert Francis Kilvert (3 December 184023 September 1879), known as Francis or Frank, was an English clergyman whose diaries reflected rural life in the 1870s, and were published over fifty years after his death. Life Kilvert was born on 3 ...
, before going up to
Wadham College, Oxford Wadham College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street, Oxford, Broad Street and Parks Road ...
. He then entered the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
and became a rural
curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are as ...
, working primarily in the
Welsh Marches The Welsh Marches () is an imprecisely defined area along the border between England and Wales in the United Kingdom. The precise meaning of the term has varied at different periods. The English term Welsh March (in Medieval Latin ''Marchia W ...
between
Hereford Hereford ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of the ceremonial county of Herefordshire, England. It is on the banks of the River Wye and lies east of the border with Wales, north-west of Gloucester and south-west of Worcester. With ...
and
Hay on Wye Hay-on-Wye, or simply Hay (; or simply ), is a market town and community in Powys, Wales. With over twenty bookshops, it is often described as a "town of books"; it is both the National Book Town of Wales and the site of the annual Hay Festiva ...
. Initially, from 1863 to 1864, he was curate to his father at Langley Burrell, and in 1865 he became curate of
Clyro Clyro () is a village and community (Wales), community in Radnorshire, Powys, Wales, with 781 inhabitants as of the 2011 UK Census. The nearest town is Hay-on-Wye, some to the south-east. History The name of the village is thought to derive fro ...
, Radnorshire. There on 1 January 1870 he started a diary from which it appears that he basked in his life within the Welsh countryside, often writing several pages describing his surroundings and the parishioners that he visited. In late 1871 he fell in love with Frances Eleanor Jane Thomas, the youngest daughter of William Thomas the vicar of
Llanigon Llanigon is a village and Community (Wales), community in Powys, Wales on the edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park, north of the Black Mountains, Wales. The Community (Wales), community population was 478. The nearest town is Hay-on-Wye, so ...
, a parish not far from Clyro, and asked her
father A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. A biological fat ...
for permission to marry her. Because of Kilvert's position as a lowly curate, Frances' father looked unfavourably on the request and refused it. After receiving this rejection Kilvert wrote in his diary that "The sun seemed to have gone out of the sky". Frances, who was referred to as Daisy in the diaries, would die a spinster in December 1928. Shortly after the rejection, in 1872, Kilvert resigned his position as curate of Clyro, and left the village, returning to his father's parish of Langley Burrell. From 1876 to 1877 he was
vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...
of St Harmon, Radnorshire, and from 1877 to his death in 1879 he was vicar of Bredwardine, Herefordshire. In August 1879 he married Elizabeth Ann Rowland (1846–1911), whom he had met on a visit to
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, his best man was William Edward Thomas Morgan. Kilvert died from
peritonitis Peritonitis is inflammation of the localized or generalized peritoneum, the lining of the inner wall of the abdomen and covering of the abdominal organs. Symptoms may include severe pain, swelling of the abdomen, fever, or weight loss. One pa ...
on 23 September, aged 38, a few days after returning from his honeymoon in
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
. He was buried at Bredwardine.


Diaries

Kilvert is best known as the author of voluminous
diaries Diaries may refer to: * the plural of diary A diary is a written or audiovisual memorable record, with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. Diaries have traditionally bee ...
describing rural life. After his death, his diaries were edited and censored, possibly by his widow. Later they were passed on to
William Plomer William Charles Franklyn Plomer (10 December 1903 – 20 September 1973) was a South African and British novelist, poet and literary editor. He also wrote a series of librettos for Benjamin Britten. He wrote some of his poetry under the pseud ...
who transcribed the remaining diaries and edited and published a three-volume selection ''Selections from the Diary of the Rev. Francis Kilvert'' (Jonathan Cape, Vol I: 1870–1871 pub. 1938, Vol II: 1871–1874 pub.1939, Vol III: 1874–1879 pub.1940), and later a one-volume selection ''Kilvert's Diary, 1870–1879'' (Jonathan Cape, 1944—corrected in 1960, and with an
abridged An abridgement (or abridgment) is a condensing or reduction of a book or other creative work into a shorter form while maintaining the unity of the source. The abridgement can be true to the original work in terms of mood and tone, capturing th ...
and illustrated version for children published as '' Ardizzone's Kilvert'' in 1976). Published just before and during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the first editions of the diaries were well received by the public when, in a period of bombing and rationing they provided an escapism back to the simpler and happier times of the mid Victorian era, still just within living memory. A different selection from Plomer's abridgement was published as ''Journal of a Country Curate: Selections from the Diary of Francis Kilvert'' by
The Folio Society The Folio Society is an independent London-based publisher, founded by Charles Ede in 1947 and incorporated in 1971. Formerly privately owned, it became an employee ownership trust in 2021. It produces illustrated hardback fine press editio ...
in 1960. In 1992 a new selection was published under the editorship of David Lockwood, ''Kilvert, the Victorian: A New Selection from Kilvert's Diaries'' (Seren Books, 1992). Out of print since 1970, the three-volume indexed edition was reprinted in 2006 by O'Donoghue Books. In the 1950s, whilst Plomer was contemplating further publication of the remaining journals, it was found that the majority of the surviving diaries had been destroyed by their then owner, an elderly niece of Kilvert's, who claimed to have done so to protect "private family matters". This had occurred during a clear out of various personal papers, prior to moving into a residential care home. When confronted by this information Plomer was said to have recalled he "could have strangled her with his bare hands." Only the three volumes listed below survived, which the said niece gave to other people. Plomer's own transcription was destroyed by fire in the
Blitz Blitz, German for "lightning", may refer to: Military uses *Blitzkrieg, blitz campaign, or blitz, a type of military campaign *The Blitz, the German aerial campaign against Britain in the Second World War *, several ships of the Prussian, Imperia ...
. Despite Kilvert's niece's actions she ironically was a Vice-President, and an avid member of the Kilvert Society for many years up until her death in 1964. Francis Kilvert also published pleasant but conventional poetry, republished by the Kilvert Society in ''Collected verse : 3rd December 1840 - 23rd September 1879 by the Reverend Francis Kilvert'' in 1968. The '' Cornish Diary: Journal No.4, 1870—From 19 July to 6 August,
Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...
'' was published by Alison Hodge in 1989. The
National Library of Wales The National Library of Wales (, ) in Aberystwyth is the national legal deposit library of Wales and is one of the Welsh Government sponsored bodies. It is the biggest library in Wales, holding over 6.5 million books and periodicals, and the l ...
, which holds two of the three surviving volumes, published ''The Diary of Francis Kilvert: April–June 1870'' in 1982 and ''The Diary of Francis Kilvert: June–July 1870'' in 1989. A new edition of the abridged 1944 ''Diary'' was published in 2019 by Vintage Classics to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Kilvert starting his diary, which fell in January 2020. It includes a recently discovered photograph of Kilvert and a new introduction by
Mark Bostridge Mark Bostridge (born 1960) is a British writer and critic, known for his historical biographies. Life and career He was educated at Westminster School and read Modern History at St Anne's College, Oxford, from 1979 to 1984. At Oxford, he was a ...
.


Nudism

Kilvert was an enthusiast for public bathing in the nude, which he regarded as natural and healthy. The first entry in Kilvert's diaries in which he records his naked bathing was for 4 September 1872, at
Weston-super-Mare Weston-super-Mare ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the North Somerset unitary district, in the county of Somerset, England. It lies by the Bristol Channel south-west of Bristol between Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill. Its population ...
. He writes: "Bathing in the morning before breakfast from a
machine A machine is a physical system that uses power to apply forces and control movement to perform an action. The term is commonly applied to artificial devices, such as those employing engines or motors, but also to natural biological macromol ...
. Many people were openly stripping on the sands a little further on and running down into the sea and I would have done the same but I had brought down no towels of my own". However, next day Kilvert joins in the fun: "I was out early before breakfast this morning bathing from the sands. There was a delicious feeling of freedom in stripping in the open air and running down naked to the sea where the waves were curling white with foam and the red morning sunshine glowing upon the naked limbs of the bathers".


Relationships with girls

Several modern writers have commented on passages in the diaries describing interactions with young girls which these days might raise suspicions of
paedophilia Pedophilia ( alternatively spelled paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of pube ...
. However, poet
John Betjeman Sir John Betjeman, (; 28 August 190619 May 1984) was an English poet, writer, and broadcaster. He was Poet Laureate from 1972 until his death. He was a founding member of The Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architect ...
was among those who have since defended Kilvert, saying, "If there had been anything sinister in his attentions to them, he would hardly have written so candidly in his diary about his feelings".


Modern adaptations

A John Betjeman documentary on Kilvert, ''Vicar of this Parish'', was shown on
BBC television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1 January 1927. It p ...
in 1976. This led to ''Kilvert's Diary'' being dramatised (eighteen 15-minute episodes) on British television between 1977 and 1978, with Timothy Davies in the title role. The diaries were dramatised on
BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...
(five episodes) in December 2019.


References


Notes


Citations


Sources

* * * * * * *


Further reading

* * * * * *


External links


The Kilvert Society

Film - Kilvert's Diary (1977)


*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kilvert, Francis 1840 births 1879 deaths 19th-century English diarists Alumni of Wadham College, Oxford British naturists Deaths from peritonitis People from Chippenham Social nudity advocates Writers from Wiltshire