GRAY’S CHURCHYARD.

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 1 July 1925, Page 3

GRAY’S CHURCHYARD.

STILL EAR FROM THE MADDING

CROWD

WORLD-WIDE RESPONCE TO

APPEAL

The danger which, for more than two years threatened the seclusion of Gray’s churchyard at Stoke Logos is at last whollysremoYed. 111 Ap'd, 1924, The Times published an appeal made by the parochial church "ouncij of Stoke Poges for fuiui s to purchase 10 acres of land which adjoin the churchyard an.l which seemed likely 10 tad into ire hands of the builders; 1o carry out repairs to the ehrueh tower ; and. if possible, to replace the s.eeple, 111 April this year Canon A. T .Barnett, the vicar announced.'that the threatened land lias been saved and that if would be handed over to the National Trust on May 5. Lord Grey of Faliodon, as vice-president of the Trust, received the deeds on that day. The funds have also perm, .'el the complete restoration of the church tower, and these two undertakings still leave a small balance towards the work of placing the steeplo in its old position again. For the present Hint part of the scheme will have :o wail. A further £901) is needed to enable the parish to carry it out, and .oeal feeding has determined that the money raised by public subscription should lie •applied to the more urgent cases. During the past year about £3,400 lias been received in response to the appeal. Refore that general invitation a sum of £l,lOO had been raised locally. Of the total of £5,500 the parochial church council . lias expended £2,200 011 the threatened land and almost an equal sum on repairs to the church. About £IOO remains as the nucleus of The steeple fund. 50,000 VISITORS.

This success is a wonderful tribute to the affection of the English-speaking race throughout the world for the finest tilings of the language and for the spirit of rural England. Gray s “Elegy” is known i n every quarter of the globe, and visitors to this country from ail parts of the Empire and from America usually contrive to see the churchyard which inspired so peaceful a picture of the English countryside. Last year there were at least 50,090 visitors, though barely one-fifth of them signed the visitors’ book. During the year subscriptions to the fund for preserving the “solemn stillness” of Gray’s churchyard have come front ail parts of the world. Between £3OO and £IOO came from New York. There were contributions from remote parts of America, from Australia, and New Zealand, and, indeed, from almost every country where English is spoken and where Englishmen have memories to cherish. The announcement in the columns of The Times had set the English Press of the world discussing the danger that threatened the memory of an English picture, made famous by a literary classic. Newspapers in obscure American towns told the story at length and most of them chose to quote in ornamental type that verse of the “Elegy ’ which begins: “Beneath those rugged elms. . yew tree's shade . . . ■Such articles were published, for example. in the Schenectady Gazette.and the Lackawanna Reporter. The l/ress of the Empire took up the matter. Newspapers in Melbourne. Christchurch, Quebec, Montreal, and Hamilton, gave sympathetic notices; journals in India, Ceylon, and the Malay States added their aitides; and similar interest was taken even in some -of the South American Republics. So it came about that people in many unthought of places sent their contributions to the astonished committee at Stoke Poges. Mostly the amounts were comparatively small, and it was fitting that the biggest individual subscription should be given -by one who had grown loud of Die place rather than of its historic associations. Mr. Bernard Walsh, who had often in the past stayed with his uncle at Stoke Park, gave £I,(JUO towards the purchase of the te n acres. Two years ago the land came into the market as part of the estate of the late Sir Bernard Oppenheimor, who with M l '. W. A. Judd, another local resident, had presented three acres of land near the church to the National Trust. Mr. Judd and the vicar bought the remaining ten acres at £22'j an acre, and held the land jointly m the hope that it might ultimately be purchased from them at the same price, for preservation to the public. 111 the period that has elapsed tempting'oilers have been made by builders for the land. * ’

Cray's churchyard js accordingly secure against encroachments which would have robbed jt of its character. Had houses crept up to within sight of its lych-gate it could no longer have pretended to that isolation which justified the line: — “Far from the madding crowd’s ignoble strife. ’’ It would have become, like many another country parish church, the centre of a village around which the habitations maintain a scarcely respectful distance. THK SCENIC TO-DAY. Cray’s churchyard is still remote, unseen from the road, undisturbed by tie rattle of traffic. It has a backgrouid of thick trees and l6oks out acros? a green field, dotted and ringed vitii trees, where cattle still graze ahd-vCiot-patlis straggle towards isolates-‘homes. l n the churchyard itself 'stands the great ancient yew not far froM Cray’s own grave.