SAVING ALD WORTH FOR THE NATION
[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—The announcement of the generous gift to the nation, by the present Lord Tennyson, of a part of the Farringford Estate, most intimately associated with his father, impels the Council of The Poetry Society to make a strong appeal that another Tennysonian shrine—Aldworth, where Tennyson lived and worked for many years, and where he died in 1892— should be preserved also as a national possession. If immediate steps arc not taken, Aldworth, which is to be offered for sale shortly by its present owner, may pass into private hands for ever and Blackdown be exposed to the encroachments of the villa builder, who is creeping up from Haslemere.
There is no more beautiful view in England than that from the hanging terraces--so carefully preserved by the present owner, the Gaekwar of Baroda, who has regarded this hallowed property as a sacred trust—across grey Sussex to the sea, and on the lawns and in the woods around almost every path and tree and nook can be identified in Tennyson's work, as our lamented ex-President----Mr. W. F. Rawnsley, who had spent much time with Tennyson at Aldworth—pointed out when this Society had the honour of being the guests of this enlightened Maharajah two years ago.
Our Council urges most strongly that an effort be made to assure the preservation, maintenance and use of this truly invaluable national shrine and it trusts that this appeal will reach not only the influential and generous readers of the Spectator, which has so worthily represented what Tennyson himself expressed—the genius of the English language and the beauty and fascination of the English countryside—but will thereby be passed on throughout the English-speaking world and will find a hearty response in the United States, Australasia and the still more remote places where the spirit of Tennyson, as we indeed know, has a profound influence, and his name is deeply venerated.—! am, Sir, &c., - [We hope that the efforts of the Poetry Society to preserve Aldworth as a national possession will be successful. We iommend the appeal to the readers of the Spectator throughout the English-speaking world. As Mr. Hyde says, the view from Aldworth across Sussex to Arundel is one of the most beautiful in England.—En. Spectator.)
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