The Collected Poems of Richard Francis Towndrow

By Chris Towndrow and Richard Francis Towndrow

Richard Francis Towndrow was a noted Victorian entomologist and botanist, and the senior member and at one time President of Malvern Field Club. He held an international honour as an Associate of the exclusive Linean Society, and published three books containing a collection of poems. 

This new and unrivalled collection of

• Language: English
• Publisher: Valericain Press
• Release date: Aug 17, 2023
• ISBN: 9781739230654

Chris Towndrow

Chris Towndrow has been a writer since 1991.He began writing science fiction, inspired by Asimov, Iain M Banks, and numerous film and TV canons. After a few years creating screenplays across several genres, in 2004 he branched out into playwriting and has had several productions professionally performed. This background is instrumental in his ability to produce realistic, compelling dialogue in his books.His first published novel was 2012’s far-future, post-war space opera “Sacred Ground”. He then changed focus into Earth-centric, near-future sci-fi adventures, and the Enna Dacourt pentalogy was completed in 2023. In a similar vein, “Nuclear Family” was a venture into post-apocalyptic fiction.He has always drawn inspiration from the big screen, and 2019’s quirky romantic black comedy “Tow Away Zone” owes much to the films of the Coen Brothers. This spawned two sequels in what became the “Sunrise trilogy”.His first historical fiction novel, “Signs Of Life”, was published by Valericain Press in 2023. With a number of excellent reviews, this Western romance has been his most popular title.In 2023, Chris returned to his passion for writing accessible humour and will devote his efforts to romantic comedies. Three such scripts are currently in development.Chris lives on the outskirts of London with his family and works as a video editor and producer. He is a member of the UK Society of Authors.

Book preview

The Collected Poems

of

Richard Francis Towndrow

Valericain Press

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Copyright © 2023 by Chris Towndrow

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, without prior written permission.

No generative artificial intelligence (AI) was used in the writing of this work. The author expressly prohibits any entity from using this publication for purposes of training AI technologies to generate text, including without limitation technologies that are capable of generating works in the same style or genre as this publication. The author reserves all rights to license uses of this work for generative AI training and development of machine learning language models.

The Collected Poems of Richard Francis Towndrow

Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-7384470-3-9

Paperback ISBN: 978-1-7384470-2-2

Amazon Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-7392306-6-1

Amazon Paperback ISBN: 978-1-7392306-4-7

eBook ISBN: 978-1-7392306-5-4

First edition August 2023

Second edition November 2023

Valericain Press

Richmond, London, UK

www.valericainpress.co.uk

Foreword

Richard Francis Towndrow was my great-great grandfather.

He came into my conscious in the late 1990s when I became involved in researching our family tree. This endeavour linked my immediate family with distant relatives around the world, uncovering personalities and stories dating back to the 1600s.

As someone who was dabbling in poetry at the time, finding this volume of work written by Richard Francis resonated with me.

It is very much of its time, although I particularly enjoy On Malvern Hills, being familiar with the area as a result of visits with my family.

As well as poetry, RFT also wrote books on botany and a critique of Tennyson’s In Memoriam. I have included a short biography of the man herein.

During a career break in 2004 I undertook to transcribe the poetry from old books and original paper notes that are in the family’s possession. These poems were published as two eBooks in 2013.

In the following decade, I devoted much of my spare time to my own fiction writing, and in 2023 I published a novel which quotes a verse of RFT’s Theo (and makes reference to the emigration of Towndrows to the USA) and as a result I revisited these old RFT manuscripts.

I decided to combine the eBooks, adding in all the material from two other archive titles, to produce a new combined volume of all known work. It can be regarded as a definite edition of Richard Francis’ output.

This collection predominantly contains poems from the published books and as well as some that were never compiled into a book, or even published individually:

Part 1 : A Life, Love and other poems (1889)

Part 2: A Garden and other poems (1892)

Part 3: Sonnets of Life, Love, and Death (1896)

Part 4: Privately circulated or unpublished poems (1896 ff)

The poems in Part 4 are listed chronologically (where the date is known).

During transcription I have retained the original formatting as best as possible, including RTF’s indentations and notes. There may, of course, be the odd character or word which is in error or illegible.

I have also included a few photographs of RFT (and wife Corinna), plus facsimiles of original works.

Hopefully the work of Richard Francis Towndrow will find an audience in a new medium and a new century. Notwithstanding, this volume serves to collate and preserve his work in new, more easily accessible and readable formats.

Christopher Harrison Towndrow, 2023

About The Author

The Malvern Gazette published a tribute to Richard Francis Towndrow (29th Oct 1845 – 25th Dec 1937) on January 1st, 1938, which best relates the high esteem with which he was regarded in the community.

The following excerpt is from that account which appears in a treasured archival volume compiled by one of his sons;

"In the death of Mr. Richard Francis Towndrow, which occurred at his residence, Ashville, Malvern Wells, on Christmas Day, Malvern has lost one of its oldest and most esteemed residents. Mr Towndrow, who had been in failing health for some time past, celebrated his 92nd birthday on October 29th last. He was a famous entomologist and botanist, and the senior member and at one time President of Malvern Field Club, in which he took an active part, being regular in his attendance at the Club’s excursions while he was able to get about. He was well read in the history of the Malvern Hills and had a wide knowledge of the plant life of the district.

Many years ago Mr Towndrow carried on a grocery and provision establishment in Malvern Link, of which he was a native, and was closely connected with St Matthias’ Church, holding office as Vicar’s Warden under the Rev. A. Day. On his retirement from business 26 years ago, he went to reside in the Wells, and served as Church warden under the late Archdeacon Walters and the Rev. G.K.M. Green.

A quiet and unassuming man, Mr Towndrow never took a prominent part in public affairs apart from his membership of the Hills Conservancy Board, on which he served for a number of years, retiring only a short time ago.

For a long time he was responsible for the arrangement of the wild flowers which stood in the entrance hall of Malvern Public Library.

For half a century he made a profound study of natural history, and flora in particular. He discovered numerous forms of rare plant life and placed his extensive knowledge and experience at the command of many who compiled and published data concerning the flora of the four counties. When Mr Carlton Rae produced, in 1910, his Addenda to the Botany of Worcestershire, Mr Towndrow’s was the first name in the list of local discoverers.

‘The Sagina Teuteri Briss, apetala, Malvern, Bickham and Towndrow,’ suggests another co-adventure with the late Mr Spencer Harry Bickham of Ledbury, one of his closest friends. In a later but useful work, commenced for the Malvern College Field Club, and issued half a century later as the Malvern Field Handbook, Mr C.E. Mackie in 1886 thanked Mr. R.F. Towndrow, who had given him very great help in making the list of flowers.

In 1872, Mr Towndrow contributed a series of papers on ‘Butterflies and Moths’ to the Natural History of the Malverns. His acute sense of observation was noticed during a joint party of the Worcestershire Club with the Malvern Field Club to Wyre Forest. The clubs met at Cleobury Mortimer, the birthplace of the Malvern Hills poet, William Langland, of ‘Piers Plowman’ fame. The report stated; ‘The environs of the station had not been quitted before Mr. R.F. Towndrow, of the Malvern Club, found two specimens of habenaria bifolia (lesser butterfly orchis)’.

The diamond wedding of Mr and Mrs Towndrow was celebrated in 1929 when they received the following telegram from the private secretary to King George V and Queen Mary; ‘I am commanded to convey to you both the hearty congratulations of the King and Queen on the happy occasion of your Diamond Wedding. Their Majesties trust that you may be spared to one another to enjoy the blessings of health and contentment for many years’.

Mrs Towndrow died three years later.

One of their five sons is living in Canada. There are 13 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

A member of Malvern Geographical Society and Malvern Higher Education Committee, Mr Towndrow had been one of the Managers of the Link Church School, and also the Warrington Church Schools, Malvern Wells.

He held an international honour as an Associate of the exclusive Linean Society, and had published three books containing a collection of poems.

Years ago he lectured to various societies in the locality and further afield. His first excursion with the Malvern Field Club, which he joined in 1846, took place in 1859, when he was 14 years old. Addressing the Club in 1899 the Rev. F.K. Clarke said he believed Mr Towndrow ‘knew the habitat of every plant for miles around’."

RTF

Table Of Contents

Foreword

About The Author

SECTION 1 : ‘A Life, Love and other poems’

DEDICATION

PREFATORY NOTE TO LOVE.

A LIFE

PART I - DEATH-IN-LIFE

PART II. - LIFE-IN-DEATH

PART III. - THE AWAKENING

PART IV. - HOPE

LOVE

TO LOVE. (1 COR. XIII. 13.)

TO LOVE’S SOURCE. (I JOHN IV. 7.)

SHORTER POEMS

A CHARACTER SKETCH

MARGARET

AMY

IDA

PASSING

SUNLESS

IN MEMORIAM. A. M. M.

PENELOPE. (A FRAGMENT.)

TIME—A RIVER

RETROSPECT

A MEMORY

For with Thee is the well of life, and in Thy light shall we see light. - PSALM xxxvi. 9.

DROWNED

TO A.R.W.

THE SEARCH

TO—

A SUMMER DAY

THE VISION OF GOD

SECTION 2: ‘A Garden’ and other poems

A GARDEN

THE AURORA BOREALIS (OCTOBER 25, 1870)

AN ARTISTS IDEAL

A HOLIDAY LYRIC

A YEAR’S CHANGES

THEO

SUN-STEEPED

FAILURE?

‘DOE YE NEXTE THYNGE’ (OLD SAXON LEGEND)

A WORD OF REMEMBRANCE

MAY-DAY

IN KEMPSEY CHURCH

SONG

A POOL IN A MEADOW

A WORD UNSAID

DARKNESS AND LIGHT

SONNETS OF THE SEASONS

TO THE AUTHOR OF EMPIRE

ON GUSTAV DORE’S PICTURE, PAOLO AND FRANCESCA DI RIMINI

ON MALVERN HILLS

A SHELTER

MUTABILITY

SOLITUDE

OUT OF THE PAST

THE