Wayland Smith's cave

 

Richard Jefferies wrote about the Wayland Smithy (just off the Ridgeway) in an article for the North Wilts Herald published on 2 November 1867. He wrote under the name 'Geoffrey' and there were eight articles in all as part of his 'History of Swindon and Antiquities of its Environs' that was later published as Jefferies Land and edited by Grace Toplis in 1896.

 

"It has much the appearance of an altar. Sacrifices may have been offered to the deceased Dane [King Bagsac] – if he was interred beneath. Some think it a work of the Druids. It is evidently very ancient, being mentioned in a Saxon charter as a land mark. The country people call it Wayland Smith’s cave, and tell a story of an invisible smith who shoed traveller’s horses on condition of their laying a groat upon the altar-stone and then retiring out of sight - whistling when hid as a signal, and leaving the horse near. Presently there would be a tinkling of hammers, and on returning to the spot the horse would be found shod and no one in sight. This legend came under the notice of Sir Walter Scott, who is said to have visited the place. He has embodied it in the novel of Kenilworth. The legend is thought to have originated in a Danish superstition concerning spirits who dwelt in rocks, and were cunning workmen in iron and steel."

Richard Jefferies memorial elm in Tolworth

Andrew Rossabi (President of the Richard Jefferies Society) gave a talk at Surbiton Library on Richard Jefferies’ Tolworth years on 26 September 2018. It was a beautiful sunny day and this memorable occasion was followed by a walk to the Richard Jefferies Bird Sanctuary where a young English elm sapling, that was Dutch elm disease-resistant, was planted as a Jefferies’ memorial in The Wood next to the Sanctuary fence and behind Surbiton Station.

Some 3 years later, on Sunday 9 January 2022 the tree was chopped down to the ground by vandals. However, wonderful local volunteers have continued to care for it and given the elm a chance to rejuvenate. 

It was photographed by Colin Corkerton (Chair of the Richard Jefferies Society) on 6 June 2026. It is a delight to see the tree growing so healthily now from four stems that developed from the stump.

Richard Jefferies would be proud to be honoured in this manner.

 Our thanks to all concerned, that include Lucy Furlong, Alison Fure and Phil Renton, for keeping Jefferies’ alive in Tolworth.  

'The Pageant of Summer' as an Epic Found-poem

Richard Jefferies' footstone on his grave in Broadwater Cemetery, Worthing describes him as the 'Prose Poet of England's fields and woodlands'.  Never could there be a better example of how well his prose reads beautifully as lyrical poetry as in his glorious essay 'The Pageant of Summer' that was collected in The Life of the Fields (1884).

R.D. Stapleford has introduced and edited the essay (in May 2026) and expressed it as an epic found-poem (click on the link to read in full) that begins:

Green rushes, long and thick,

Standing up above the edge of the ditch,

Told the hour of the year

As distinctly as the shadow

 

On the dial the hour of the day.

Green and thick and sappy to the touch,

They felt like Summer, soft and elastic,

As if full of life, mere rushes

 

Though they were. On the fingers

They left a green scent; rushes

Have a separate scent of green,

So, too, have ferns,

 

Very different from that of grass or leaves.

Rising from brown sheaths,

The tall stems enlarged a little in the middle,

Like classical columns, and

 

Heavy with their sap and freshness,

Leaned against the hawthorn sprays.

From the earth they had drawn its moisture,

And made the ditch dry;

 

Some of the sweetness of the air

Had entered into their fibres,

And the rushes—the common rushes—

Were full of beautiful Summer.

THE LOST ELMS wins top literary prize for Nature writing

Mandy Haggith was announced today (7 May 2026) as the winner of the Richard Jefferies Award for the best nature writing issued in 2025 for her book The Lost Elms published by Wildfire, an imprint of Headline Publishing Group Limited.
   

Walk around Tolworth 6 June 2026

 This guided walk, in the footsteps of Richard Jefferies' Tolworth years, will be led by local ecologist and Richard Jefferies Society member, Alison Fure. 

Please note that you need to book a place if you wish to attend. Numbers are limited for insurance reasons. Email bentonbat@gmail.com.

An Ecological Vision of Earth

 

New meeting room for the Richard Jefferies Museum

 Please help towards funding a new meeting room at the Richard Jefferies Museum. 

Artist's impression of the proposed building.

Richard Jefferies Society AGM and Spring Lecture

Richard Jefferies Award Shortlist for 2025 Nominations

 The Richard Jefferies Award is given annually to the author of the publication considered by the judging panel to be the most outstanding nature writing published in a given calendar year. The winning work must reflect the heritage and spirit of Richard Jefferies’ countryside books.

Congratulations to the following 2025 nature-writing books and their authors that have been shortlisted for the latest Richard Jefferies Award: