Riseholme () is a fictional

Elizabethan The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The Roman symbol of Britannia (a female per ...

village in the

Cotswolds The Cotswolds ( ) is a region of central South West England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper River Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and the Vale of Evesham. The area is defined by the bedroc ...

in the "Lucia" novels of Edward Frederic Benson (1867–1940). It is thought to have been based on

Broadway, Worcestershire Broadway is a large village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Cotswolds, England, with a population of 2,540 at the 2011 census. It is in the far southeast of Worcestershire, close to the Gloucestershire border, midway between ...

Lucia and Riseholme

Riseholme first appeared as the home of Emmeline Lucas ("Lucia") and her husband, Philip (a retired barrister whom she called "Peppino"), in ''

Queen Lucia ''Queen Lucia'' is a 1920 comic novel written by E. F. Benson. It is the first of six novels in the popular Mapp and Lucia series, about idle women in the 1920s and their struggle for social dominance over their small communities. This book intro ...

'' (1920). The Lucases had by then lived for ten years at The Hurst, in front of which was a Shakespearean garden. Lucia was "Queen" of Riseholme, the main figures in her circle being George ("Georgie" or "Georgino") Pillson and Daisy Quantock.{{cite book , last1=Masters , first1=Brian , title=The Life of E. F. Benson , date=1991 , publisher=Chatto & Windus , isbn=978-0701135669 , pages=237-240 , url=https://archive.org/details/lifeofefbenson00mast/page/236/mode/2up , accessdate=1 November 2020 Riseholme appeared also in ''

Lucia in London ''Lucia in London'' is a 1927 comic novel written by E. F. Benson. It is the third of six novels in the popular Mapp and Lucia series, about idle women in the 1920s and their struggle for social dominance over their small communities. The second ...

'' (1927), in which Lucia launched herself on London society; ''

Mapp and Lucia ''Mapp and Lucia'' is a 1931 comic novel written by E. F. Benson. It is the fourth of six novels in the popular Mapp and Lucia (novel series), Mapp and Lucia series, about idle women in the 1920s and their struggle for social dominance over the ...

'' (1931), in which, following Peppino's death, both Lucia and Georgie (who entered into a companionable marriage in ''

Lucia's Progress ''Lucia's Progress'' (published in the US as ''The Worshipful Lucia'') is a 1935 comic novel written by E. F. Benson. It is the fifth of six novels in the popular Mapp and Lucia series, about idle women in the 1920s and their struggle for social ...

'', 1935), took holiday lets in the Sussex town of Tilling (based on

Rye Rye (''Secale cereale'') is a grass grown extensively as a grain, a cover crop and a forage crop. It is grown principally in an area from Eastern and Northern Europe into Russia. It is much more tolerant of cold weather and poor soil than o ...

) where, at the end of the summer of 1930, they decided to settle. At Tilling Lucia unveiled her celebrated dish, Lobster ''à la Riseholme''. Lucia and Georgie visited Riseholme again in ''Trouble for Lucia'' (1939) where they stayed at the home of the operatic ''prima donna'' Olga Bracely and Lucia called on Poppy, Duchess of Sheffield, at nearby Sheffield Castle (which Benson located at "Sheffield Bottom"—unconnected to the Yorkshire Sheffield). It was revealed in ''Mapp and Lucia'' that Lucia's great rival in Tilling, Elizabeth Mapp ('' Miss Mapp'', 1922) had once visited Riseholme and stayed at the Ambermere Arms. She also hijacked Lucia's ''au reservoir'' (for ''au revoir'') and presented it to Tilling society as her own.

Sources of Riseholme

Cynthia and Tony Revell (1984) ''Mr Benson remembered in Rye, and the world of Tilling'' cited Sir

Steven Runciman Sir James Cochran Stevenson Runciman (7 July 1903 – 1 November 2000), known as Steven Runciman, was an English historian best known for his three-volume '' A History of the Crusades'' (1951–54). His works had a profound impact on the popula ...

(1903–2000), a Cambridge historian who knew Benson well, and Benson's manservant Charlie Tomalin (d.1981) for the assertion that Riseholme was based on Broadway. Benson was known to have visited the American actress Mary Anderson (1859–1940), long resident in England, who lived in Broadway at Court Farm. The name was probably derived from the village of Riseholme, near

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the 16th president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln (na ...

, of whose Church of England cathedral, Benson's father,

Edward White Benson Edward White Benson (14 July 1829 – 11 October 1896) was archbishop of Canterbury from 1883 until his death. Before this, he was the first Bishop of Truro, serving from 1877 to 1883, and began construction of Truro Cathedral. He was previousl ...

, was

Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

before becoming

Bishop of Truro The bishop of Truro is the ordinary (diocesan bishop) of the Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown De ...

in 1877. Benson used Riseborough as the name of a town similar to Rye in his novel ''Mrs Ames'' (1912).

References

Mapp and Lucia Fictional populated places in England