Edward Thomas letters to Helen Thomas
Eleven letters, October 1914, from Edward Thomas to his wife, Helen Thomas, in the form of a journal of his bicycle tour in Hampshire, Wiltshire, Glamorgan and Breconshire, together with an account of his visit to Robert Frost at Dymock, Gloucestershire.
A volume containing a fair copy, [?1799] (watermarks 1794, 1796, 1798), of a journal of a tour through parts of England and Wales, August-September 1797, describing in particular country houses and other sites visited, road conditions and scenery.
Departing from London on 17 August, the itinerary included Oxford (ff. 8 verso-28 verso), Cheltenham, Gloucester and Worcester (ff. 37-51), Coalbrookdale (ff. 56 verso-58 verso), Shrewsbury (ff. 60-65), Welshpool (ff. 65 verso-69), Llangollen (ff. 73 verso-80), Corwen, Bala, Dolgellau and Barmouth (ff. 80 verso-89 verso), Aberystwyth and the vicinity (ff. 90-95 verso), Kington (f. 98 verso), Herefordshire (ff. 99-103), the lower Wye Valley from Hereford to Chepstow (ff. 103-113), and various houses in Wiltshire (ff. 114-134 verso). Included in the journal are descriptions of William Herschel's telescope at Slough (ff. 6-7 verso), various Oxford Colleges (ff. 9-27 verso), Chirk Castle (ff. 70 verso-72), Valle Crucis Abbey (ff. 78-79 verso) and the Hafod Estate, Cardiganshire (ff. 92-94 verso). The descriptions of Blenheim Palace (ff. 30-35 verso), Attingham House, Shropshire (ff. 63-64 verso), Stourhead (ff. 114 verso-120 verso), Fonthill (ff. 120 verso-124), Wardour Castle (ff. 124-127 verso) and Longford Castle (ff. 128-131), all Wiltshire, include lists of the paintings housed there. A note and partial list of contents, April 1872, by Ev[elyn] Ph[ilip] Shirley is on f. i.