Charlotte Mary Yonge Day - Saturday, 24 June 2023

At Otterbourne And Hursley 10.00- 5.00

Final Details.

This event celebrated the bicentenary of the birth of one of Hampshire’s most influential authors - Charlotte Mary Yonge (CMY) - with talks, walks and music. In the morning, there was a visit to Otterbourne where CMY was born and spent her whole life, and in the afternoon to the majestic Hursley Park where CMY had close connections with the Heathcote family and Hursley village.

 Hursley Park in the mid-19th Century

At Otterbourne one of the special features of the day was a musical contribution from “The Madding Crowd”. As indicated on their web site ‘The Madding Crowd researches and performs the church and secular music of the English villages bands and choirs in the period 1660-1861’. Thus, they focussed on music familiar to Charlotte Yonge during the first half of her life and provide a memorable introduction to the morning proceedings at Otterbourne.

At Otterbourne and Hursley there were short talks on the communities as CMY would have known them, plus the opportunity to undertake CMY trails (short self-guided walks). The latter were included in a specially prepared commemorative booklet, available free to participants, and produced with much appreciated financial support from Hampshire Archives Trust. We hope that the day will be a fitting tribute to one of Hampshire’s unsung ‘celebrities’.

The cost for attending the whole day was £14.00 per person for members of HFC or the Charlotte M Yonge Fellowship; the cost for non-members was £17. The price included the above-mentioned booklet, morning coffee and afternoon tea.