''Summoned by Bells'', the

blank verse Blank verse is poetry written with regular metre (poetry), metrical but rhyme, unrhymed lines, usually in iambic pentameter. It has been described as "probably the most common and influential form that English poetry has taken since the 16th cen ...

autobiography by

John Betjeman Sir John Betjeman, (; 28 August 190619 May 1984) was an English poet, writer, and broadcaster. He was Poet Laureate from 1972 until his death. He was a founding member of The Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architect ...

, describes his life from his early memories of a

middle-class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Commo ...

home in

Edwardian In the United Kingdom, the Edwardian era was a period in the early 20th century that spanned the reign of King Edward VII from 1901 to 1910. It is commonly extended to the start of the First World War in 1914, during the early reign of King Ge ...

Highgate Highgate is a suburban area of N postcode area, north London in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden, London Borough of Islington, Islington and London Borough of Haringey, Haringey. The area is at the north-eastern corner ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, to his premature departure from

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and ...

. The book was first published in November 1960 by Betjeman's London publisher, John Murray, and was read by the author, chapter by chapter, in a series of radio broadcasts on the

Third Programme The BBC Third Programme was a national radio station produced and broadcast from 1946 until 1967, when it was replaced by BBC Radio 3. It first went on the air on 29 September 1946 and became one of the leading cultural and intellectual forces ...

(later to become Radio Three) of the BBC. A later, illustrated edition with line and water colour illustrations by

Hugh Casson Sir Hugh Maxwell Casson (23 May 1910 – 15 August 1999) was a British architect, also active as an interior designer, an artist, and a writer and broadcaster on twentieth-century design. He was the director of architecture for the 1951 Fest ...

was published in 1989 by Murray (). A

paperback A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, also known as wrappers, and often held together with adhesive, glue rather than stitch (textile arts), stitches or Staple (fastener), staples. In contrast, ...

edition appeared in 2001. There is also a BBC film version directed by

Jonathan Stedall Jonathan Hugh Pemberton Stedall (20 January 1938 – 21 October 2022) was an English television producer and documentary filmmaker known for his collaborations with John Betjeman, Malcolm Muggeridge and Alan Bennett. Early life Stedall was bo ...

for television in 1976.
Summoned by Bells with Sir John Betjeman
',

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

DVD, 2007. In an autobiography covering the life of Betjeman before he started his first job, narrated in blank verse by him, Betjeman visits places that played an important part in his early life.

Synopsis

*Chapter I Before MCMXIV — Memories of the nursery, realisation of class. You could: ::looking up socially

But what of us in our small villa row

Who gazed into the Burdett-Coutts estate?

I knew we were a lower lesser world …

::looking down socially and geographically

Glad that I did not live in

Gospel Oak Gospel Oak is an area of north west London in the London Borough of Camden at the very south of Hampstead Heath. The neighbourhood is positioned between Hampstead to the north-west, Dartmouth Park to the north-east, Kentish Town to the south-ea ...

*Chapter II The Dawn of Guilt — The author prefers poetry to his father's fascinating workshop; early lines. *Chapter III

— His love for Miss Peggy Purey-Cust; trouble with bullies.

Betjeman's a German spy—

Shoot him down and let him die:

*Chapter IV

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

in Childhood — To Cornwall by rail, evocative sounds and smells of childhood holidays. *Chapter V Private School — To the

Dragon School The Dragon School is a private school across two sites in Oxford, England. The Dragon Pre-Prep (children aged 4–7) and Prep School (children aged 8–13) are both co-educational schools. The Dragon Prep School was founded in 1877 as the Oxfo ...

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

; bicycling to look at church architecture. *Chapter VI London — John's father is doing well, they have moved to Chelsea, "the slummy end"; but he preferred leafy Hampstead. *Chapter VII

Marlborough Marlborough or the Marlborough may refer to: Places Australia * Marlborough, Queensland * Principality of Marlborough, a short-lived micronation in 1993 * Marlborough Highway, Tasmania; Malborough was an historic name for the place at the sou ...

— After a depressing start, the discovery of literature, nature and the Wiltshire Downs; manages poetry better than painting. *Chapter VIII Cornwall in Adolescence — To Cornwall by road, adolescent family troubles, and bicycling independently to explore Cornish churches. *Chapter IX The Opening World — Up to

, influences, hobnobbing, versifying, failing at Holy Scripture.

Places mentioned in the book

The book references several places that hold particular meaning or atmosphere. Among them is

St Ervan St Ervan is a rural civil parish and hamlet in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The hamlet is situated three miles (5 km) southwest of Padstow. St Ervan is named after St Erbyn, the original patron of the church, who is said to have bee ...

, where the narrator reflects, “In the cool shade of interlacing boughs, I found St Ervan’s partly ruined church…” Other locations include

Trebetherick Trebetherick () is a village on the north coast of Cornwall. It is situated on the east side of the River Camel estuary approximately north of Wadebridge and south of Polzeath.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 200 ''Newquay & Bodmin'' ...

Pembroke College, Oxford Pembroke College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford, is located on Pembroke Square, Oxford. The college was founded in 1624 by King James I of England and VI of Scotland, using in part the endowment of merchant Thomas Tesdale ...

, and Sezincote, each contributing to the sense of place and memory woven throughout the narrative.

''A Ring of Bells''

In 1962 Betjeman released an abridged version of the book for children, with illustrations by

Edward Ardizzone Edward Jeffrey Irving Ardizzone, (16 October 1900 – 8 November 1979), who sometimes signed his work "DIZ", was a British painter, printmaker and war artist, and the author and illustrator of books, many of them for children. For ''Tim All Al ...

References

{{reflist 1960 books 1989 books British non-fiction books English books English poetry books Books by John Betjeman Literary autobiographies Magdalen College, Oxford University of Oxford in fiction

Synopsis

Places mentioned in the book

''A Ring of Bells''

See also

References