1840-1879
Clergyman and author of diaries. Born at Hardenuish, near Chippenham, Wiltshire, the son of a clergyman. His father gave him his early schooling and he went on to Wadham College, Oxford, before being ordained into the church himself. After serving as a curate to his father, from 1865 until 1872 he was curate to the Reverend Richard Lister Venables, Vicar of Clyro in Radnorshire. Before taking up a living at Bredwardine, Herefordshire, some ten miles south of Clyro, he was curate at Langley Burrell, Clyro, and vicar at Saint Harmon.
In November 1877 he became Vicar of Bredwardine and Rector of Brobury, Herefordshire. He lived at what is now the Old Vicarage at Bredwardine, close by the church of St. Andrew. His youngest sister Sarah (known as Dora) lived here, acting as housekeeper to her brother until her marriage in July 1878. In August 1879, he married Elizabeth Anne Rowland (1846-1911) and they spent their honeymoon in Scotland. The couple were rapturously received on their return, according to contemporary accounts, but within ten days of his homecoming, on 23 September, Francis Kilvert died of peritonitis. He was buried in St. Andrew's churchyard.
Francis Kilvert is remembered for his diaries, which were written for his own amusement, with no intention of publication. On his death, his widow is known to destroyed much of his work, which would have run to over thirty notebooks. It was re-discovered and first published in a three-volume selection by William Plomer between 1938 and 1940. The diary runs from 1870 to March 1879 and records the landscape, the people and his work in great detail, but written in such a charming way that it immediately grabs the attention and interest of the reader. As a snapshot of everyday experiences in a remote border community this has become a classic work of biography and, because of the elegant way it is written, as a work of literature in its own right.
The Kilvert Society was formed in Hereford Town Hall on July 17th, 1948, "to foster an interest in Kilvert, his work, his diary, and the countryside he loved." It is active in promoting Kilvert Country, as the area has become known.
Page created 9 February 2001 and last updated 28 October 2002
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