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The family would have holidays by the sea, either at
Mablethorpe
or Skegness. They would take cottage close to the sea bank. The poet loved
the sea all his life, especially the North Sea in rough weather. Alfred
used to walk among the sand hills between Skegness and Gibraltar Point.
At low tide he would go onto the mud flats. He would recite his poems
out loud in the isolation of the east coast.
In 1826 Alfred (17) and Charles (18) published their first book called
"Poems by Two Brothers." They received ten pounds for the work
published by Jacksons of Louth. They were so excited to see their poems
in print that they hired a carriage and drove the 14 miles to Mablethorpe
"where they shared their triumph with the wind and the waves."
In 1828, Alfred at 19, entered Trinity College, Cambridge. While at college
he won the Chancellor's medal for English Poetry with his 'Timbucktoo.'
He had a number of poems published whilst he was here. It was while at
Cambridge he met Arthur Hallam who became a great friend and later, was
a frequent visitor to Somersby. With Hallam, the poet visited Spain and
later, travelled up the Rhine.
In 1831, Alfred's father died and so he returned to Somersby
to take care of his family where they stayed at the Rectory until 1837.
Dr. Tennyson, who was 52 when he died, is buried in the south-west corner
of the churchyard.
A book of poems was published in 1831 which included "The Lady of
Shallot," "Morte d'Arthur" and "Locksley Hall."
It was well received by the public but attacked by the critics. For this
sensitive man, it was devastating and as a result was silent for ten years.
Some of this time was spent in the Lake District.
In 1833, Arthur Hallam died while visiting Italy. From Tennyson came
"The Two Voices," "In Memoriam" and "Ulysses."
Eventually, when these were published and for which he gained some fame,
Alfred was able to marry Emily Sellwood, his life-long sweetheart. Emily
was the niece of Sir John Franklin,
the Arctic explorer. In 1850, they were married at Shiplake on Thames.
On the death of William Wordsworth in 1850, Alfred Tennyson became Poet
Laureate. Earnings from "Maud" enabled them to buy a house on
the Isle of Wight. In 1871 Queen Victoria offered him a peerage which
he refused but ten years later was persuaded to accept. He became the
first Lord Tennyson. At the age of 80 he wrote "Crossing the Bar."
After leaving Somersby
in 1837, Alfred never visited his old home again. It was at his house
at Blackdown in Surrey he died in 1892 October 06. Five days later he
was buried in Westminster Abbey.
For over 50 years, Alfred Lord Tennyson dominated English Literature.
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