The George Herbert in Bemerton Group
The George Herbert in Bemerton Group was set up in 2002 by Canon Judy Rees, on her return to Lower Bemerton after a long absence. The ten members of the Group cover a wide spectrum of interests, both religious and secular.
Aims
The Group’s aims are to:
- study and celebrate the life and work of George Herbert as priest, writer and distinguished inhabitant of Bemerton;
- mount events relating to the works of George Herbert and the context in which he lived; and
- liaise and co-ordinate with other bodies with like interests.
We try to share our enthusiasm for George Herbert and his works with others, usually through events held in or around the village where he spent the last three years of his life. In this way we support the Friends of St Andrew's Bemerton in their work of promoting the memory and works of George Herbert.
Events
The Group has held three to five events every year since 2002. These have included illustrated talks and lectures; poetry readings (often accompanied by live musicians playing music of Herbert's time) and workshops; readings of material about George Herbert and his period; and walks in the area with which he would have been familiar (though now, of course, much changed). The present Rector of Bemerton and his predecessor, and the Precentor of Salisbury Cathedral, have all contributed to our programme. We also hosted an event at the 2007 international conference on 'George Herbert’s Pastoral: Poetry and Priesthood, Past and Future' held at Sarum College, Salisbury. Our 2010 summer programme included a joint event with the Salisbury International Arts Festival. Fuller details of many of these events can be found in our archives.
2011 Programme
Group members at Gregynog
2011 is the Group's tenth active year, and once again a full programme has been sucecessfully completed. In particular, we were delighted to welcome Professor Helen Wilcox from the University of Bangor, who spoke about 
'A Writer in His Time'.
Members of the Group have just participated in the George Herbert Society's international conference at the Gregynog Conference Centre, Powys, Wales, where they gave a presentation about the Group and it's activities.
Other Activities
Our group has commissioned music to Herbert's poems from composers with local associations, published in 2007 by the Royal School of Church Music under the title 'Another Music'.. Also - with the blessing and support of the author - we have adapted and reprinted a chapter from Ronald Blythe's out-of-print book 'Divine Landscapes' as a booklet 'George Herbert in Bemerton', published in 2005 by Hobnob Press. Copies of both publications are available from our Gift Shop. We have also produced an educational resource pack about George Herbert. Our latest project is a CD of George Herbert hymns, to include all the well known ones together with those in our hymnbook 'Another Music'.
In August, members of the group went to visit St. Mary's, Leighton Bromswold, the church where George Herbert was prebend; he raised funds from his friends and family for its restoration. The visit also took in Little Gidding and various sites in Cambridge associated with Herbert.
Oover the years the Group has hosted visitors from both the UK and overseas to St Andrew’s Church, the most recent being a party of students from Wheaton College, Illinois.