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| The Old Path by Fay Godwin |
Rachel mentioned Ted Hughes the other day such a famous name in the land of poetry, but my mind went to Fay Godwin who had illustrated his book called 'Remains of Elmet,' with her black and white photographs depicting a sad and lonely countryside. She captures such gloom that perhaps it colours your sense of the landscape that Hughes lived in.
Hughes lived in Mytholmroyd in West Yorkshire and there is a bleakness to the Calder vale where he must have wandered. My knowledge of it is limited to Todmorden and Hebden Bridge. The dark grey of the buildings, the rows of terraced houses with no gardens. The narrowness of the valley, with road, river and canal running alongside each other. There are of course the old weaver's houses with their large first floor windows to let in the light as the photo shows.
Then of course this is where the Brontes grew up in West Yorks, no wonder Cathy was so melancholy as she trod the path over the moors calling for Heathcliff, the weather was flippin miserable.
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| Weaver's cottage in Manchester |
"Fay's entry into art proper came with Remains Of Elmet: A Pennine Sequence (Faber and Faber, 1979) with poems by Ted Hughes. Elmet, associated with the Calder valley, west of Halifax, was the last Celtic kingdom to fall to the Angles. It fostered the industrial revolution in textiles, but, by the 1970s, when Fay went there, it had decayed to the point of looking like a figure for the end of the world." Guardian article 1985
To return to Fay, I feel her work was not fully appreciated, though she went on to become an advocate for the countryside and her photographs in later books, especially 'Land' with words by John Fowles. One might consider her 'arty' Whilst reading about her I came across a new word 'autodidactism', which means she was home schooled, or......
Autodidacticism (also autodidactism) or self-education (also self-learning and self-teaching) is education without the guidance of masters (such as teachers and professors) or institutions (such as schools).
Fascinating.... how talent finds itself.
When I visited Tam in Elland last year, she took me for a drive around the Calder Valley and I have to say, it would take some getting used to. I hadn't even heard there was a hippy colony settling there in the 70s, around Hebdenbridge. Elmet I remember from something I read though I'm not brilliant with Anglo-Saxon history. Rheged and Bernicia more familiar though. Fay Godwin had totally passed me by (how it is to live in ignorance). So much to still discover . . .
ReplyDeleteYes life is full of discoveries. The valley needs some getting used to as well, you can see why Karen's house gets flooded in the basement. Yet the basement is very Victorian with rooms with hooks for butchering presumably and places for the storage of food. There are several good things about Todmorden though, perhaps it is the old hippies (in flight from expensive Hebden Bridge) have started the 'Edible' aspect in the town with food being grown everywhere, down the canal path, outside the police station and everywhere there is space.
DeleteInteresting what you say about autodidacticism - as a retired teacher I have always felt that a lot of education in our schools system is pretty much superfluous. Home schooling amongst the middle and upper classes is usually good - but children from lower down what used to be called the social order suffer. My school was an inner city comprehensive where in almost all cases both parents had to work just to make both ends meet. But when one parent is at home and with the right attitude then what is learned is often far more important than would be learned in school (apart from the sheer importance of learning to get on with other young people). I would often see young people go through school and leave with a poor reading age and poor skills in maths only to discover them in Tesco on the till a year later - adept at ringing all the goods through - with super social skills - makes one think.
ReplyDeleteFascinating point of view from a teacher Pat. But I totally agree, such a lot learnt in school has no meaning to the pupils. First time I had come across that word by the way, home schooling is an easier way of saying it. Of course, the formal act of teaching prepares children for the exam world, it must be a bit scary for home schooling parents having to prepare for the same, or of course if they really want to?
DeleteCurious arrangement of windows in those weaver's cottages. I wonder why Hebden Bridge has become the lesbian capital of Britain. Any ideas?
ReplyDeleteA quick reply would be read social history of the last 50 years maybe. But yes it is hippy land, and you know how hippies love to explore every avenue. My daughter ran a charity shop there, so there were some very rich hippies who would bring expensive clothes, only worn once but maybe had a stain on it. And then there were the poor hippies who argued the toss over every penny but always went they were flush spent there money in the shop. Hebden Bridge is where my grand daughter and friends go for cocktails;) ;)
DeleteAlso, Weaver's cottages can be found in the Cotswold as well, people worked from home, the wool industry was big business, and the making of clothes were done at home.
DeleteYes, but the windows... Maybe I am too used to Georgian uniformity.
DeleteDon't send me off on a hunt for information as to the uniformity of Weaver windows ;)
DeleteWe have houses and workshops here in Norwich with weavers windows, high up on the top floors to maximise the light.
DeleteAnglia has of course the very rich beautiful churches as well Rachel gifted by the wool trade. And also of course the leader of the house of lords sits on the woolsack...
DeleteI love the photographs in R of Elmet as much as the poems. I'm trying to work out who it was that "borrowed" my book several years ago.
ReplyDeleteYes would it not be lovely to get back the books lent over the years;) I have a somewhat tattered copy,an edition by Faber and Faber in which the photos are not so good - very dark. My favourite poem will always be 'The Thought-Fox' he captures the moment so well.
DeleteWhat would be fun is to take a tour of the areas basedon the authors
ReplyDeleteYes the 'marriage' of authors and artists is an intriguing thought, as is a retrospective of going round the same haunts as them to capture the mood.
DeleteAutodidactism is what I guess we practice here......l think it would be stretching it a bit to say I am a teacher or professor! It has been a long time since I did any learning under the guises of either of them and I suspect many people could say the same so perhaps most of us are autodidacts.
ReplyDeleteI thought of you when I read the explanation, I have always known it as 'home schooling', it is a difficult word to get your tongue round though.
ReplyDelete