Look closely
You might remember the poem "Footpaths" by Ebenezer Elliott. I posted it on Monday of this week.
You may also remember that I referred to Elliott's Rock and my ambition to find it. Allegedly, back in the 1830's, he would walk out of the city to a secret place by a tumbling stream where he found peace for contemplation and the churning of creative juices.. There was a particular rock in the stream upon which it is claimed that he carved his own surname: ELLIOTT.
Well, I found that rock after carefully making my way down a precipitous path to the bottom of a little V-shaped valley that carries Black Brook down to The River Rivelin.
If Ebenezer did carve his name, it would have been one hundred and eighty years ago. Though the stream ran gently today there will have been many occasions when water flowed over Elliott's Rock with frothing ferocity.
Because of this, the carved name is not as clear as it once was and I am sure that in another fifty or sixty years it will be totally illegible.
I sat for a while in that verdant dell, beside the babbling brook making observational notes as a cloud of tiny may flies danced upon the water's surface in a shaft of amber sunlight.
With Clint's kind co-operation, I decided to press on with my Elliott-inspired adventure and headed back into the city. I made for 22 Blakegrove Road in the Upperthorpe area. It is where Elliott lived between 1834 and 1841 and there is a blue plaque there to confirm that fact. He didn't own the house - he just rented it. In the early 1980's I visited the house several times. A man called Bill lived there with his disabled wife. He was a leading light in The British Humanist Society and we were friends for a while.
Well done for finding the stone and recording it. It is a bit like living with Ebenezer Elliott for a while, a brief glimpse into his world.
ReplyDeleteI would have loved to have gone for a walk with Ebenezer.
DeleteYou found the rock and it still has a readable name! That's amazing after all this time. He must have carved it quite deeply.
ReplyDeleteAlthough legend says that he personally carved it, I have my doubts but it is still very old.
DeletePlucky Pudding picked his way down that precipitous path with aplomb.
ReplyDeleteHa-ha! That's clever Jacqui!
DeleteAmazing the inscription is still eligible after one hundred and fifty years.
ReplyDeleteI saw an old black and white photo in which it was much clearer.
DeleteSo pleased that you found Ebenezer's rock. What a beautiful spot for tranquil contemplation - I can see how it would inspire him.
ReplyDeleteIt was indeed a beautiful and sheltered place. I am very glad I did not tumble down the path.
DeleteI always enjoy finding connections to our past that have been undiscovered until me.
ReplyDeleteHistory is not just in history books.
DeleteI'm surprised that rock is still legible at all! Good job finding it, as well as his erstwhile abode.
ReplyDeleteI have heard the word "dell" before -- as in, "the farmer in the..." -- but I never quite knew what one was. Now I do!
It is a nice word too. The old stadium of Southampton F.C. was called The Dell though it wasn't in a dell!
DeleteOne wonders why he felt the need to carve his name into a rock. It's a human thing, I guess. But well done you on finding it! Such a beautiful spot, too.
ReplyDeleteI very much doubt that he personally carved it. The more I read of him and by him, the more I recognise his lack of self-importance.
DeleteI'm so glad you found the rock. What a beautiful place to sit and contemplate. Now I plan to google how one goes about carving a name in a rock. I might just carve my name in my own backyard sitting rock.
ReplyDeleteThat would be a great thing to do Melinda. Go for it!
DeleteGood find! What a lovely area to sit and your description of the "verdant dell..." sounds like a poet's description.
ReplyDeleteI often try to paint pictures with words though I admit that I am not always successful.
DeleteI always learn something new when I come here. I didn't know what corn laws were, seems things never change sadly.
ReplyDeleteThat is a very beautiful house that Ebenezer rented and your friend Bill lived in.
It's nice to share knowledge - just as you did with Simon's cancer.
Delete