It seems that another remnant of rural England is about to fall to the power of philistines who know the price of everything and the value of nothing. This time, it’s the Somerset village of East Coker, inspiration for part of T. S. Eliot’s Four Quartets and the village in which Eliot is himself interred. Please read the message below and consider writing to the local councillors in the hope that they can come to see the importance of the priceless inheritance thay are on the verge of vandalizing.
The Somerset village of East Coker, where T. S. Eliot is interred, is shortly going to be swamped by 3,750 new houses and an industrial estate. The plan is being pushed through by a Liberal Democrat councillor on the South Somerset Council who admits his ignorance of its cultural significance, adding “I don’t like poetry” and “You may well personally hold that a dead poet’s tomb is a national monument, and that the setting extends for miles around, but as I understand it Elliott only had a passing link with the village, being the family home rather than his chosen place of regular abode. He was so overwhelmed with East Coker that he mentioned it in a poem once.”
If the council does not very soon feel a groundswell of opposition from those who appreciate the beauty and literary importance of the village, this scheme will be unstoppable. Please will you help us to prevent that, by sending an email to the members of the council whose addresses appear below—and by sending this appeal on to any of your friends who might also like to help? The East Coker Preservation Trust will be happy to provide any more information you need. It will be much appreciated if you feel able to write.
Thank you.
SANDRA SNELLING, East Coker Preservation Trust.
andy.foyne@southsomerset.gov.uk
rina.singh@southsomerset.gov.uk
mark.williams@southsomerset.gov.uk
peter.seib@southsomerset.gov.uk
patrick.palmer@southsomerset.gov.uk
caroline.power@english-heritage.org.uk
john.richardson@southsomerset.gov.uk
cathy.bakewell@southsomerset.gov.uk
carol.goodall@southsomerset.gov.uk
susan.steele@southsomerset.gov.uk
marcus.fysh@southsomerset.gov.uk
tony.fife@southsomerset.gov.uk
john.chainey@southsomerset.gov.uk
peter.gubbins@southsomerset.gov.uk
andrew.kendall@southsomerset.gov.uk
david.recardo@southsomerset.gov.uk
dave.greene@southsomerset.gov.uk
tony.lock@southsomerset.gov.uk
tim.carroll@southsomerset.gov.uk
ian.martin@southsomerset.gov.uk
jon.gleeson@southsomerset.gov.uk
pauline.lock@southsomerset.gov.uk
graham.oakes@southsomerset.gov.uk
nigel.gage@southsomerset.gov.uk
ric.pallister@southsomerset.gov.uk
martin.wale@southsomerset.gov.uk
tim.carroll@southsomerset.gov.uk
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