The poet John Clare was born in 1793. He grew up in the
Northamptonshire village of Helpston where his formal education
ended at the age of eleven years old. He was employed as a
ploughboy for a year, before working as a potboy for the landlord
of the Blue Inn, next door to his home. At this time he wrote his
first poem entitled 'The Morning Walk'. In 1807 he worked as a
gardener at Burghley House. In 1812 he joined the Northamptonshire
Militia at Oundle, but by 1816 he was back working as a gardener.
In 1819 he came into contact with John Taylor (Keat's publisher) at
Stamford and in 1820 his first volume entitled 'Poems Descriptive
of Rural Life and Scenery' was published by Taylor and Hessey.
1820 was undoubtedly Clare's most successful year during which
he was granted 15 guineas for life from the Marquis of Exeter and
was able to acquire Lord Radstock and Mrs Emmerson as patrons. He
also got married and his first child Anna Maria was born.
In the years 1821-1835, Clare had three further volumes of
poetry published entitled 'The Village Minstrel' (1821) 'The
Shepherd's Calendar with Village Stories and Other Poems' (1827)
and 'The Rural Muse' (1835). In this time he also completed the
'Midsummer Cushion' (which remained unpublished until 1832) and
started his Journal and Autobiography. He also had eight more
children during this period and moved his family from Helpston to
Northborough.
In 1837, Clare was admitted to High Beach Asylum at Epping
Forest suffering from delusions. In 1841 he left High Beach and
walked 80 miles home to Northborough. In December of this year he
was committed to Northampton General Lunatic Asylum where he
remained for the last 23 years of his life. Clare died in 1864 and
is buried at Helpston.
Peterborough Museum and Art Gallery holds a large collection of
John Clare Manuscripts described within A Descriptive Catalogue of
the John Clare Collection in Peterborough Museum and Art Gallery by
Margaret Grainger.
Northampton Central Library also holds a significant collection
relating to John Clare. This is described within the Catalogue of
the John Clare Collection in the Northampton Public Library by
David Powell. The majority of this collection has been copied on to
microfilms which are available for consultation at Peterborough
Central Library.
Both of these catalogues are available for consultation in the
Local Studies and Archives Room at Peterborough Central
Library.
Printed sources
Bibliographies
- A descriptive catalogue of the John Clare Collection in
Peterborough Museum by Margaret Grainger (1973).
- John Clare: a reference guide / by HO Dendurent (Geo
Prior 1978).
- John Clare: an annotated primary and secondary
bibliography by Barbara Estermann (Garland 1985).
Biographies
- The life of John Clare by Frederick Martin (Macmillan
1865, reprinted by Cass, 1964).
- John Clare: a life by JW & Anne Tibble (Cobden
Sanderson 1932, reprinted by Michael Joseph 1972).
- A right to song: the life of John Clare by Edward
Storey (Methuen 1982).
- John Clare: a biography by Jonathan Bate (Picador
2003).
Poetry
The collected works of John Clare, edited by Eric Robinson,
David Powell & PMS Dawson, were published by Clarendon Press in
nine volumes 1984-2003.
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