Mattishall
Mattishall lies just off the A47 a few miles
south-east of Dereham. Mattishall Hall,
at South Green, was once the home of Anne Bodham -
who was the cousin of the poet William Cowper. She once
sent him a miniature portrait of his mother Ann Donne (who died
when Cowper was six years old) - which inspired his well known
poem On Receipt of My Mother's Picture Out of Norfolk.
The poem begins:
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Oh, that those lips had language!
Life has pass'd
With me but roughly since I heard thee last.
Those lips are thine - thy own sweet smiles I see,
The same that oft in childhood solaced me;
Voice only fails, else, how distinct they say,
'Grieve not, my child, chase all they fears away!' |
Here is a portrait of his Cowper's mother:
Ann Bodham - Cowper's
Mother
The Donnes were a Norfolk family and
Cowper often stayed with his uncle Roger Donne at
Catfield rectory when he was a boy. Cowper's poem to his
mother is one of his finest pieces: full of emotion and
yet employing the natural rhythms of speech. Here is
another famous section:
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I heard the bell toll'd on thy burial day,
I saw the hearse that bore thee slow away,
And, turning from my nurs'ry window, drew
A long, long sigh, and wept a last adieu! |
Parson Woodforde, who lived at nearby
Weston Longville, used to attend social events hosted by
the Bodham family in Mattishall. Many are recorded in his famous diary.
He would travel over on horseback.
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Mattishall Village Sign |
Links:
Mattishall Village Website |
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Supported
by Norfolk Tourism