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Mary Maria Colling
Mary Maria Colling drawn by William Patten in 1831 Mary Maria Colling was born in Tavistock, Devon, in 1805. A servant for most of her life, she had a volume of poetry published in 1831 following correspondence between her patron, the novelist Anna Eliza Bray, and the Poet Laureate, Robert Southey. In the churchyard of St Eustachius church in Tavistock there is a worn and rapidly decaying headstone in memory of Mary's maternal grandmother, Ann Philp. The headstone was paid for from the proceeds of Mary's publication. I became aware of Mary, her book and the headstone almost 20 years ago. I've now pieced together her story from the major sources:
Bray, Anna Eliza Traditions, legends, superstitions, and sketches of Devonshire on the borders of the Tamar and the Tavy illustrative of its manners, customs, history, antiquities, scenery, and natural history, in a series of letters to Robert Southey, Esq. Three volumes. London: John Murray, 1838. Wright, W.H.K. West-Country poets: their lives and works. London: Elliot Stock, 1896. The letters exchanged between Anna Eliza Bray and Robert Southey document the story: Southey to Bray, 14th March 1831 Bray to Southey, 17th March 1831 Bray to Southey, 25th March 1831 Southey to Bray, 26th March 1831 Bray to Southey, 22nd June 1831 Southey to Bray, 6th February 1832 Southey to Bray, 14th March 1832 Bray to Southey, 24th April 1832 Bray to Southey, 8th June 1832 Bray to Southey, 8th January 1833 Bray to Southey, 6th April 1833
© Chris Goddard, 27 November, 2004
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