SCENES FROM
ALRESFORD
LIFE
I have been reading an enchanting new book
which contains some ‘scenes from Alresford
life’ from not so long ago – for instance, a
schoolgirl taking her pony up Broad Street to be
shod at the smithy. That girl is now the
distinguished local elder, Rosemary Chambers
of Lake House. Rosemary was born in Old
Alresford House during the war and lived there
until she married (in the private chapel).
Despite many excursions and adventures
elsewhere, she has remained firmly attached to
Alresford ever since.
The book is entitled ‘True to my Roots’ and the
author’s roots go very deep and spread very
wide. She can trace her ancestry back to an
11th century Scottish lord, to Edward III of
England, to supporters and opponents of
Robert the Bruce and Bonny Prince Charlie,
and to great 19th century landowners on both
sides of the border. Her family, the ConstableMaxwells, were (and are) part of the minority
‘recusant’ Catholics who remained ‘true to their
roots’ and their faith through three centuries of
repression and exclusion. This is, and always
has been, a very close-knit social grouping,
characterised by large families (her father was
one of twelve) and cemented by inter-marriage.
Her roots in the Church are also extraordinarily
extensive. On the evidence of her writing, she
has been unwaveringly devoted to both her
family and her faith.
Rosemary is one of those rare and delightful
writers who can work the trick of persuading
those who know her that they can hear her
voice as they read each sentence. As I read I
can hear her talking of life in that great house
during the post-war years of extreme austerity,
and slaving in the family watercress (what
else?) business. This style also makes for easy
reading for those who do not know her. Anyone
interested in a true and clear account of how
The Season worked, what life was like in a
convent boarding school in the fifties, or as an
Oxford undergraduate in the sixties, or as a
novice nun, or simply as a member of a highly
observant (and well-connected) Catholic family
before Vatican II, must rush to buy this book.
We learn also about a young woman’s
developing knowledge and enthusiasm for art
as she describes her year in Rome and her
extensive travels through Italy and France and
Greece, and her awakening interest in the
wider world as she spent time with family and
friends in Berlin, Paris, Brittany, Brussels and
the United States (her mother was Texan). The
book ends with her introduction to life as a
teacher and mother, but there are frequent
flashes forward to later experiences and to the
times and the Alresford people we know. This
is a book largely about the past though its
author shows she is securely anchored in the
present.
As a stranger to the world Rosemary describes
I find it intriguing that a woman from a very
‘strict’ Catholic background could succeed in
gaining
herself,
with
warm
family
encouragement, an education which was just
about as broad and liberal as one could get,
and which was wholly successful in producing
a broad-minded and liberal person. Don’t take
my word for that last remark. Just read the book
and you will see it is a true account. You can
buy it direct from Rosemary. Put £12.50 in your
pocket and walk down to Lake House (next to
The Globe). It would be wise to ring first to
check that she is at home and has not sold all
her stock.
Peter Pooley
Copies are also available from Oxleys
bookshop in Broad Street.
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