A VICTORIAN engraving of a mysterious medieval tomb at St Michael and All Angels' Church has been bought by the Ledbury and District Society, writes Gary Bills-Geddes.
Attached to the reverse is a poem reproduced in the June edition of the parish magazine. All that is certain is that the poem is obviously contemporary with the picture and was sent, unsigned, to artist Thomas Ballard in honour of his drawing, in 1882.
The poem is written in rhyming couplets showing the possible influence of Keats through his later works, such as The Eve of St Mark, which is steeped in a love of the medieval. Keats, who died young in 1821, was at the height of his popularity with the Victorians in the 1880s and was a major influence on Tennyson.
Tennyson may have visited Eastnor Castle as a friend of the family and it is tempting to think that the poem may be by him. However, weak end rhymes, such as "hers" matched with "tears" and even "o'er" with "evermore" would seem to rule it out as the work of a major technician.
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