7th April 2008
The Bournemouth home of ‘Lark Rise to Candleford’ author, Flora Thompson will be officially marked with the unveiling of a blue plaque this week.
To highlight Flora’s connections to the town, BBC’s Lark Rise actress, Olivia Hallinan who plays Laura (the character based on Flora) in the current BBC series will be unveiling a blue plaque at the home in Edgehill Road, Winton on 9 April at 11.30am.
Surviving relatives, Flora Thompson experts including her biographer, Gillian Lindsay will be attending the unveiling along with the Mayor of Bournemouth, Councillor Anne Filer and pupils from nearby Saint John’s School.
The unveiling will be followed by a special event at Winton library to celebrate Flora’s connection to the library and to mark the National Year of Reading. Olivia Hallinan will give a short speech followed by presentations from Flora Thompson’s biographer and Senior Librarian, Jan Marsh will give a brief history of Winton Library.
Councillor Barry Goldbart, Cabinet Member for Adult Services said: “It’s fantastic that we are officially marking the connection of Flora with Bournemouth and with Winton library. She provides a great example of how local facilities such as the library can be an invaluable resource to the community.”
Head of Information, Culture & Community Learning, Shelagh Levett added: “This event is just one of many that we have planned for Bournemouth throughout this year to mark the National Year of Reading. I hope, through community events like this one, it will inspire more people to come and take a look at what their local libraries can provide.”
Notes:
The new BBC series, ‘Lark Rise to Candleford’ tells the story of Laura Timmins based on a series of semi-autobiographical books by Flora Thompson.
Flora’s writing career began while she lived in Bournemouth. In 1907 a new library had just been built in Winton, where a radical new self-service facility was introduced. The use of the new modern library inspired Flora to begin writing, achieving several literary competitions while she lived in Winton.
Bournemouth has more than 30 plaques around the borough marking the homes and other buildings and their connections to famous names including:
Sir Dan Godfrey – founded the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
Inspector Abberline – investigated the Jack the Ripper killings
Hubert Parry – wrote music for the hymn Jerusalem
Mary Shelley – author
Lillie Langtry – actress, mistress of Prince of Wales
Tolkien – author
Robert Louis Stevenson – author
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