I am glad to see this forum up and running. My own interest in Carpenter stemmed from the work I was doing on the composer Rutland Boughton who fell under Carpenter's spell and set several of his poems.

In reading the GMP reissue of "Towards Democracy" I was startled to discover that he was buried in Guildford. I wrote to the "Surrey Advertiser" to ask for further details and it was confirmed for me by post by Ron Burgess (a former mayor of Guildford) and Rosemary Fitch (a great neice of Carpenter's).

I then went looking for it myself and found it after an hour and a half. It was rather depressing to me that there was nothing on the grave and it seemed to be untended and weed strewn (quite unlike the Lewis Carroll one). I then wrote again to the Surrey Advertiser detailing this state of affairs and stated that it would be good if Guildford were to commemorate him in some way. Given he was such a great influence in his day it was absurd that it wasn't already.

Ron Burgess informed me that there was to be a commemorative reading at the Guildford Institute and I, Rosemary Fitch and another Neice of his Guida Clement attended and all made ourselves known to one another.

We all then set about influencing various people. I wrote and got the backing of the Gay Mens Press and we all lobbied both the Council and the Labour government minister(Mo Molam). Ron was doing his bit at council meetings trying to influence people adverse to "popularising perverts" and eventually told me that the council were going to erect signposts pointing the way. This was on the condition that the same applied to Lewis Carroll.

The next time we all met up was at a celebratory party (50th anniversary, 1992?) where Sheila Rowbotham gave a talk and met Rosemary and Guida. The party was followed by a pilgrimage to his grave where Ron Burgess read the statement E.C had wanted read at his funeral but which wasn't for some reason. Then Ron Sheila, the neices and I went to look at the house in Guildford where he spent his last days and photos were taken.

I have been in touch with Rosemary on and off ever since. I also kept the Boughton scholar Michael Hurd informed of details. He gave me a signed photograph of E.C. that E.C. passed onto Boughton and Boughton onto him. I am honoured to be part of such a distinguished lineage.

I should add that the current signposts are fairly recent. The original was a green "public footpath" type affair.
I'm pleased that it was decided to renew rather than remove it altogether though.

Just to add that Boughton's Carpenter songs are available on CD. Just Google "Rutland Boughton Songs."

Am,of course, delighted to see the Guildford part of the story being highlighted in this issue.

As an aside, the tower in the corner of the cemetary is called "Booker's Tower" and was built in the 19th century by a local businessman to commemorate the death of his two sons.

Post edited by: Alan Page, at: 2009/01/11 18:07<br><br>Post edited by: Alan Page, at: 2009/01/11 18:10

Hi Alan,
Am thinking of going down to vist his grave. Do I look for Guildford Cemetry? Is it clearly signposted now do you know?

Hi Mike,
The cemetary is located at the top of a steep hill called &quot;The Mount&quot;. This can be found at the bottom of the town. Look or ask for St Nicholas Church when you arrive and The Mount is directly facing it.

You will have to climb a fair way up. Pass the sign for St Nicholas's school and you will meet the old part of the cemetary on your left. If you go in that way and walk around the chapel you will also see Lewis Carroll's grave.

The Old Cemetary is seperated from the new part by a little foot path but as you pass the chapel you will find the gates quite easily. Continue up the path in front of you until you reach a junction by a tap and watering cans. Turn left and the sign for Edward's grave should be visible from there.

I was delighted to see , on visiting it myself a day after the recent anniversary, that somebody had put flowers on it. Makes up for the neglect it has had over the years.

Hope this is useful. It took me two hours to find it when I went looking for it originally.<br><br>Post edited by: Alan Page, at: 2009/07/27 07:05