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1935-
Children's author. A librarian by profession, Sheena Porter work at libraries in Leicester, Nottingham and Shropshire, living at Ludlow. She won the Library Association's Carnegie Medal in 1964 for her children's novel, Nordy Bank . This tells the story of a group of youngsters who camp out on an Iron Age fort in Shropshire. The novel is rich in atmosphere, adventure and characterisation. Nordy Bank is a real place, as are the various other locations including the nearby village of Clee St. Margaret with its well-known ford where the river runs quite a way down the road. Other places featured include Ludlow and Bromfield.
The following year she wrote The Knockers , set on the Long Mynd and also drawing upon not only the physical setting but the history and folklore of the area. Elements of the legend of Wild Edric, the local warrior-leader who resisted the Norman invasion in the Welsh Marches, are entwined with a contemporary story of children trying to solve the mystery of the eerie knocking sounds heard in the batches or hollows (valleys) of the Long Mynd. The children in the story hear of the ordeal of the Rev. Donald Carr when he was lost in the snow on the Long Mynd, recounted in the book A night in the snow , and decide to retrace his steps from Ratlinghope to Woolstaston in the midst of winter weather. They too get into difficulties but escape. Sheena Porter wrote the Foreword to the 1970 edition of Carr's book and explained here that her story, The Knockers , was intended as an acknowledgement of the anniversary of his feat of survival.
This profile includes material from Walks with writers by Gordon Dickins and Gladys Mary Coles, published by Shropshire Books, 1992. © Gordon Dickins, 1992.
The following works are available in the West Midlands Creative Literature Collection :-
Bronze chrysanthemum (1961)
Deerfold (1966)
Hills and hollows (1962)
Hospital (1973)
Jacob's ladder (1963)
Knockers (1965)
Nordy Bank (1964)
Scapegoat (1968)
Valley of Carreg-wen (1971)
Page created 26 November 2001 and last
updated 14 September 2003
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