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Celebrating Hampshire HistoriansFiennes, Celia7 June 1662 – 10 April 1741The author of what has been described as the most important travel journal of the 17th century, Celia Fiennes, was born at Newton Toney in Wiltshire, to Nathaniel Fiennes, a Parliamentarian colonel in the English Civil War, and his second wife, Frances. Celia Fiennes never married, and between 1694 and 1712, journeyed around England. Travel for its own sake was unusual at that time and Fiennes became the first woman to describe visiting every county in the land. Her motive was ‘to regain my health by variety and change of aire and exercise’ and whilst doing so she wanted to ensure that ‘as my bodily health was promoted my mind should not appear totally unoccupied.’ She accordingly took an interest in all that she saw, ranging from country estates (often occupied by family acquaintances) to new industries and social practices. Her journals were put together as a memoir in 1702 and were probably intended for family consumption rather than a wider readership. It wasn’t until 1888 that a relation, Emily Griffiths, published her work as Through England On a Side Saddle, in the time of William and Mary. Christopher Morris produced a scholarly edition, with appropriate commentary, in 1947. Hampshire, with its proximity to Newton Toney, features prominently in a number of the itineraries. Fiennes visited many of its towns and elaborated on particular buildings such as Winchester Cathedral ‘to be admired for its Largeness, not its neatness or curiosity’ and Winchester College, where the founder, William of Wykeham is acknowledged as ‘an ancester of ye ffiennes and Lord Say and Seale’. Some private houses, such as Nurstead, near Petersfield and Broadlands, near Romsey, receive a comprehensive description, others, like Abbotstone and Basing, a passing mention, but there is generally some detail, like the gardens and vineyards at Basing House, which has significance for later researchers. Hampshire also provided one of Fiennes’ more unsettling moments when, in 1698, rain had ‘made the wayes very slippery…it being mostly on Chaulk…a little before I Came to Alsford, forcing my horse out of the hollow way his feete failed and he Could noe wayes recover himself, and soe I was shott off his neck upon the Bank, but noe harm I bless God…’ SourcesGriffiths, E (1888) Through England On a Side Saddle, in the time of William and Mary. Morris, C (1947) The Journeys of Celia Fiennes PortraitThere is no known portrait of Celia Fiennes. Contribution to county’s historyA ‘diligent and attentive observation of the counties through which she passed… There being little literature of this kind and period in existence, Celia Fiennes' diary almost takes the position and value of an historical document… The perusal of these quaint and straight-forward pages, in which there is little pretence to style, gives a good idea of what England was two hundred years back.’ Relevant published works
Critical CommentsOther CommentsContributorDave Allen, August 2022. Keywords17th & 18th Century England, Winchester, RomseyAny queries or further suggestions for this part of the list should be addressed to celebrating@hantsfieldclub.org.uk.
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