Welcome
Welcome to the website of the Norman Nicholson Society. The site aims to provide information about Nicholson and his work and encourage the study and enjoyment of this remarkable man's writings. Here you will also find information about the NN Society which holds regular events and publishes the newsletter Comet. The Society is based in Millom, on the banks of the River Duddon and in the shadow of Black Combe, and has a worldwide membership.
MembershipNew members of the Norman Nicholson Society are warmly welcomed. Membership fees are £15 per annum or £20 for a couple living at the same address, and £6 youth membership (up to age 25). Check out benefits of membership here, including how to access the Members' exclusive area of this website. Please contact us at nns.membership@gmail.com
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Norman Nicholson
Norman Nicholson was born in Millom, Cumbria, in 1914 and lived there until his death in 1987 with the exception of two years in his late teens when he was sent to a sanatorium in Hampshire to recover from tuberculosis - an event which shaped his subsequent life. His writing career lasted from 1930 until his death and embraced plays, poetry, novels, criticism and essays. He is best known for his poetry and was awarded the Queen's Medal for Poetry in 1977 and the OBE in 1981.
Read an appreciation of Norman Nicholson by Fran Baker, former archivist at the John Rylands University of Manchester Library, HERE. Most frequently-asked question: Where can I get hold of Nicholson's work? The Greetings shop, 26 Lapstone Road, Millom LA18 4BU, has a range of Nicholson books in stock. Or try Faber & Faber HERE or Amazon HERE, or click HERE for links to Nicholson's poems online. |
Social Media: We're on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Click on the icons below.
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LATEST NEWS
We hit the target!
The Norman Nicholson House project team has pulled off a remarkable success by raising £20,000 towards the overall cost of the scheme, hours ahead of a deadline set by the Architectural Heritage Fund to double their money. The result of their online crowdfunder means the House project will benefit to the tune of £40,000, thanks to the AHF’s pledge to match all funds raised to a maximum of £20,000 by the end of today, January 31st 2023.
Chair of the Norman Nicholson House project Charlie Lambert said: ‘I can’t quite believe it but people have been incredibly generous and really got behind our crowdfunder in this last week as the AHF’s deadline closed in. It’s been humbling to see the donations coming in from a wide range of people. Whether the amount has been small or large we know that it’s a tough time for people economically and we really appreciate every single donation’.
The crowdfunder, hosted on www.GoFundMe.com, is titled ‘Breathe New Life into Norman Nicholson’s house’ and raises money towards the cost of buying and renovating the lifelong home of the Millom poet who died in 1987. Charlie said: ‘This fundraising achievement makes a massive statement and will show major funding organisations how much support we have as we approach them for the significant additional funds we need in order to realise our ambitions’.
The project intends to turn the ground floor of the three-storey Victorian terraced house into a café and community hub, with the two upper floors becoming home to a lively museum interpreting Nicholson’s work for a modern audience.
posted 31/1/23
Chair of the Norman Nicholson House project Charlie Lambert said: ‘I can’t quite believe it but people have been incredibly generous and really got behind our crowdfunder in this last week as the AHF’s deadline closed in. It’s been humbling to see the donations coming in from a wide range of people. Whether the amount has been small or large we know that it’s a tough time for people economically and we really appreciate every single donation’.
The crowdfunder, hosted on www.GoFundMe.com, is titled ‘Breathe New Life into Norman Nicholson’s house’ and raises money towards the cost of buying and renovating the lifelong home of the Millom poet who died in 1987. Charlie said: ‘This fundraising achievement makes a massive statement and will show major funding organisations how much support we have as we approach them for the significant additional funds we need in order to realise our ambitions’.
The project intends to turn the ground floor of the three-storey Victorian terraced house into a café and community hub, with the two upper floors becoming home to a lively museum interpreting Nicholson’s work for a modern audience.
posted 31/1/23
Our crowdfunder makes it into the TLS
The Times Literary Supplement has picked up on our crowdfunding campaign in support of the Nicholson House project. This week's edition, in the 'Farmed Out' column, encourages its readers to donate and emphasises that the deadline for matchfunding from the Architectural Heritage Fund, January 31st, is rapidly approaching.
posted 21/1/23
posted 21/1/23
Cumbria Arts & Culture podcast features Nicholson
We're featured in the latest podcast from Cumbria Arts & Culture Network. Producer Tom Speight has been talking to our chair Charlie Lambert about Nicholson the poet, as well as finding out about Nicholson's house in Millom and the Society's plans for the coming year. Listen to the podcast and view accompanying pictures HERE.
posted 17/1/23
posted 17/1/23
Poetry and cake
Members of the Norman Nicholson Society held a poetic party on Sunday January 8th to mark the 109th anniversary of the birth of their favourite poet. The event featured a series of readings of Nicholson's poetry, chosen for their striking relevance to the global crises of today despite the writer having died in 1987. The party began in the living room of Nicholson's lifetime home, 14 St George's Terrace, where an online audience joined in via Zoom. This first session ended with an audio recording of Nicholson reading one of his poems, The Whisperer. The in-person group then walked the short distance to St George's Church (pictured) where Nicholson was once a regular member of the congregation, for more readings, tea, coffee, biscuits, and, of course, cake.
Chair of the Norman Nicholson Society Charlie Lambert said: 'It was a really cheerful and enjoyable event, and very moving to hear Norman's voice once again in his own environment'.
posted 17/1/23
Chair of the Norman Nicholson Society Charlie Lambert said: 'It was a really cheerful and enjoyable event, and very moving to hear Norman's voice once again in his own environment'.
posted 17/1/23
Nicholson on Radio 3
Nicholson's poem For the New Year was read on BBC Radio 3 this morning, as their selected Poem of the Day. You can hear it via BBC Sounds at https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001ghfh
at 1 hr 21 mins 30 secs along the timeline. The poem appeared in Nicholson's first major collection 'Five Rivers' published in 1944.
The stars wheel past the windows
Like flocks of winter sparrows...
Well worth a listen.
posted 6/1/23
at 1 hr 21 mins 30 secs along the timeline. The poem appeared in Nicholson's first major collection 'Five Rivers' published in 1944.
The stars wheel past the windows
Like flocks of winter sparrows...
Well worth a listen.
posted 6/1/23
The Birthday celebration will be available online
Happy New Year from all of us at the Norman Nicholson Society
We're pleased to announce that next Sunday's birthday event will be available for everyone to join live via Zoom. As previously posted here, we will celebrate Norman's 109th birthday with a poetry-reading event starting at 14 St George's Terrace and then moving on to St George's Church. We hope you can join us in person for this, but if you can't, then do link up using Zoom. We've held plenty of Zoom events already, but this will be our first 'hybrid' event, meaning that there will be a live, in-person audience as well as those joining online. We're treating it as a trial run with a view to making more events available on a hybrid basis in future. For this one, the online audience will be able to see and hear all the proceedings in the first part of the event, at No 14, but won't be able to speak to the meeting. They will be welcome to use the Chat facility to comment or ask questions. For logistical reasons the Zoom element will only apply to the first part of the afternoon, at No 14, and not the subsequent session at the church. If you'd like to join us online, please register by 5pm on Saturday January 7th by emailing normannicholsonsociety@gmail.com. The link will be sent out later that evening. The event starts at 2pm on Sunday 8th.
posted 1/1/23
Celebrate Nicholson's birthday with us!
Each year the Society does something to mark Norman Nicholson's birthday on January 8th and we can now announce our plans for the big day in 2023. On Sunday January 8th there will be a series of readings of Nicholson's poems which still hit the spot today, whether on the subject of war in Europe, climate change, or living with difficult circumstances. We'll meet at Norman's house, 14 St George's Terrace, for the first few readings and then make our way via the Scutcher in Market Square to St George's Church where the main part of the event will take place and refreshments will be available. There's no admission charge and everyone is welcome to join us. Our thanks to Rev Carl Carter for permission to meet at St George's.
posted 23/12/22
posted 23/12/22
Our Christmas 'Poet Tree'!
The Society is again taking part in the annual Christmas Tree Festival at St George's Church in Millom. Our tree this year is a departure from the usual evergreen variety. Instead our imaginative committee members Sue Dawson and Janice Brockbank have designed a very inventive and cleverly-named 'Poet Tree' which uses Nicholson books to form the shape of a traditional Christmas tree. Instead of a star on the top there's a representation of a comet, a homage to our former committee member Peggy Troll, and visitors will also see a bright red geranium crafted from felt which is a tribute to another of our much-missed friends Dot Richardson, who was part of our Christmas tree team for many years. The festival is open 11am to 5pm Wednesday to Sunday.
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posted 10/12/22 photos: SUE DAWSON
In the members' area: a theologian's view of Nicholson
Fr Jerry Walsh. Photo: Steven Springsdorf
Nicholson's early reputation was built largely on his religious poetry; indeed, at the age of 27, in 1941, he was commissioned by Penguin to edit 'An Anthology of Religious Verse, Designed for the Times', published the following year. This aspect of his work is largely undiscussed these days, leaving a gap which the Society's honorary vice-president David Boyd now fills in an article exclusive to members of the Society. David, author of the 2015 biography 'Norman Nicholson, A Literary Life', has been reviewing his correspondence with the late Father Jerry Walsh, Professor of Old Testament Studies at the University of Dallas, Texas. The fascinating outcome is now available in the Members' Area of this website. If you're a member of the Society and haven't yet registered for access to this exclusive area, the details are HERE.
posted 5/12/22
posted 5/12/22
On display at the Archive Anniversary Fair
The Society was pleased to put on a display at the Cumbria Archive Service 60th Anniversary History Fair in Carlisle last Saturday (November 12). The Cumbria archivist, Kelda Roe, kindly provided surrogates of some of the Christine Boyce materials deposited there, all preparatory work for her masterpiece, the Norman Nicholson Memorial Window at St George's Church in Millom. They were very striking, particularly the three alternative sketches for the window, which gave visitors the chance to compare them to each other and to the final version. Thank you to Cumbria Archive for the opportunity and to everyone who came to our stall.
posted 14/11/22 photo: GLENN LANG
posted 14/11/22 photo: GLENN LANG
Cumbria Archive Service
A compilation of the catalogue entries for all the Nicholson materials listed in Cumbria Archive Service online catalogue,
as kept in archive centres in Cumbria, is now available in the Members' Area of this website. The list, put together by our committee member and editor of Comet Antoinette Fawcett, contains a surprisingly large number of items - gold dust for anyone engaged in Nicholson research. Access to the Members' Area is free to all members of the Society but you must register in order to access it. Details HERE.
posted 11/11/22
as kept in archive centres in Cumbria, is now available in the Members' Area of this website. The list, put together by our committee member and editor of Comet Antoinette Fawcett, contains a surprisingly large number of items - gold dust for anyone engaged in Nicholson research. Access to the Members' Area is free to all members of the Society but you must register in order to access it. Details HERE.
posted 11/11/22
Doreen Cornthwaite remembers...
There's a new addition to the Norman Nicholson Audio Archive. Nicholson's second cousin, Doreen Cornthwaite, has shared her memories of Norman, from her youth in South Africa where she first learned from her father that she had a relative who was 'a poet of sorts' to moving to Cumbria and getting to know Norman and his wife Yvonne very well. She recalls how she discovered that Nicholson's work was being taught in schools in South Africa and also how Norman once said to her, 'When I die no-one will remember me'! You can listen to the audio HERE.
posted 31/10/22
David Scott
We're sorry to pass on the sad that news David Scott, a long-standing member of the Society, has died, aged 75. David, a priest by calling, served in the ministry in Cumbria, Middlesex and Winchester. He was also a successful poet and became a friend of Norman Nicholson. He was a strong supporter of our activities and events. We send our condolences to his wife Miggy and to all David's family and friends.
There's an excellent tribute to David here: https://www.bloodaxebooks.com/news?articleid=1253&fbclid=IwAR2E1sdQy4aoswfJKkL5HRaghdTosEIXyaFO3OjRuXveiwn-lUu39xHSgqY
posted 24/10/22
There's an excellent tribute to David here: https://www.bloodaxebooks.com/news?articleid=1253&fbclid=IwAR2E1sdQy4aoswfJKkL5HRaghdTosEIXyaFO3OjRuXveiwn-lUu39xHSgqY
posted 24/10/22
Support from Copeland Community Fund
Copeland Community Fund is to provide two grants to cover important work on the Norman Nicholson House project. The CCF Enabling Fund has agreed to meet the cost of upgrading the plans for the new-look house by John Coward Architects of Cartmel, and also a complete reassessment of the project's budget which has to be revised in view of rapidly escalating costs across the board. This support is worth a total of £1,718 and is a further sign of support for the project which is part of Millom Town Deal's application to the Government for a multi-million pound grant under the levelling up strategy.
The Nicholson House project was launched by the Society in 2016 and is now being led by the Norman Nicholson House Community Interest Company, set up by the Society in 2020. The project aims to buy and renovate 14 St George's Terrace, and locate in the house a lively museum to celebrate Nicholson's work, en-suite accommodation for a writer-in-residence as well as general tourists, and a good-quality cafe to become a focal point for local people and community groups.
It has received financial support so far from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Architectural Heritage Fund, Millom Stronger Towns Fund, and a host of individuals who continue to donate to the project's GoFundMe crowdfunding page. The next big landmark will be the Government's decision on the Millom application which is due before the end of the year.
posted 15/10/22
The Nicholson House project was launched by the Society in 2016 and is now being led by the Norman Nicholson House Community Interest Company, set up by the Society in 2020. The project aims to buy and renovate 14 St George's Terrace, and locate in the house a lively museum to celebrate Nicholson's work, en-suite accommodation for a writer-in-residence as well as general tourists, and a good-quality cafe to become a focal point for local people and community groups.
It has received financial support so far from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Architectural Heritage Fund, Millom Stronger Towns Fund, and a host of individuals who continue to donate to the project's GoFundMe crowdfunding page. The next big landmark will be the Government's decision on the Millom application which is due before the end of the year.
posted 15/10/22
Millom Library closes
photo: SUE DAWSON
It's a landmark day tomorrow when Millom Library closes in readiness for its move to the former Network Centre adjoining Millom School. The library in St George's Road was an important place throughout Norman Nicholson's life. The secondary school he attended was located within the building; he frequently used it for study and reference; he opened the Folk Museum when it was created in 1974; and a bust of Nicholson by the sculptor Joan Palmer remains in the library to this day. We're pleased to hear that the bust will have a prominent position in the new library which is due to be formally opened next month.
posted 11/10/22
posted 11/10/22
A look at our Heritage Week exhibition
posted 25/9/22
A face, a place, a root
Norman Nicholson's house in St George's Terrace, Millom, came to vibrant life yesterday as we threw the front door open to welcome visitors to our one-off exhibition to celebrate both Nicholson and National Heritage Week. It was wonderful to see people arriving from all over Cumbria and beyond. They included the Acting Mayor of Millom Simone Faulkner, Councillor Emma Ormesher, the Chair of Millom & Haverigg Civic Society Irene Rogan, and also Kate Parry and Tom Speight from Cumbria Heritage and Arts Network. A big thank you to everyone who came and supported the event, and also to those who kindly loaned items for display. Exhibits ranged from Josefina de Vasconcellos' bust of Nicholson to poems published in poster format by the Mid Northumberland Arts Group (MidNAG), to Norman's whisky flask, typewriter and even his favourite recipe! Thanks also to Jonathan Powell for leading a guided walk and our committee members who put it all together.
Bust of Norman Nicholson by Josefina de Vasconcellos, below a black and white photo from Norman's school days.
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There was plenty for visitors to see on the ground floor of the Nicholson family home.
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Exhibits included the deeds to No 14, with the signature of Joseph Nicholson, Norman's father.
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posted 18/9/22
ALS Newsletter
The Autumn 2022 Newsletter of the Alliance of Literary Societies has been released and is available to all members of the Norman Nicholson Society. It can be found on the Members' Page (login required). If you're a member of the Society and haven't yet registered for access to this exclusive area, the details are HERE.
posted 15/9/22
posted 15/9/22
Dot Richardson
We are very sad to report that our wonderful friend and former committee member Dot Richardson has passed away. Dot was a founding member of the Norman Nicholson Society and served as our treasurer from 2011 to 2017, continuing as a committee member until last year. A lifelong Millom resident she was the daughter of the Millom harbourmaster in the days when Millom had a busy port alongside the mines and the Ironworks. She witnessed all the changes that the town experienced over the decades and knew Norman Nicholson personally. Her cheerfulness and optimism made her a much-loved member of the Society as well as the wider community and she will be hugely missed.
posted 9/9/22
posted 9/9/22
Fund to assist Nicholson students
Millom Town Council has re-launched the Norman Nicholson Memorial Fund after an interruption caused by the Covid pandemic.
The Fund is now open to applications for grants to assist anyone from Copeland who is engaged in literary studies or a literary career; or anyone nationwide who is studying Nicholson's work.
The deadline is September 30th.
Contact the Town Council direct for further information.
posted 8/9/22
The Fund is now open to applications for grants to assist anyone from Copeland who is engaged in literary studies or a literary career; or anyone nationwide who is studying Nicholson's work.
The deadline is September 30th.
Contact the Town Council direct for further information.
posted 8/9/22
Very pleasing to see our Norman Nicholson Walking Trails app highlighted in the Guardian! The mention comes in an excellent travel feature written by Phoebe Taplin, describing a visit to the wonderful coastal scenery of West Cumbria and including reference to the app - and, gratefully noted, a link to this website. Read the article HERE. The app launched in March 2021 with funding from Millom Town Deal. Find out how to download the (free) app HERE and explore the locations that inspired Nicholson.
posted 28/7/22
posted 28/7/22
Nicholson documents deposited in Cambridge archive
A priceless collection of Nicholson documents has been deposited in the Archive Centre at King's College, Cambridge, by the man who wrote the first full-length study of Nicholson's work, Philip Gardner. The collection consists predominantly of letters written by Nicholson to Philip Gardner and typescript copies of 12 of Nicholson's poems, some of which are unpublished. The 12 poems by Nicholson, with annotations by Gardner, are: 'Diatoms' 'Birthday Card' 'Christmas Present' 'Scree' 'Christmas Carol for the First Man in the Moon' 'The Seventeenth of the Name' 'The Borehole' 'The Searcher' 'Tromso' 'A Local Preacher's Goodbye' and 'Hard of Hearing'.
There's more information and contact details for anyone wishing to make an appointment to examine these manuscripts via these links supplied by the Archive Centre:
https://arcspace-pub.lib.cam.ac.uk/repositories/7/archival_objects/860971
https://arcspace-pub.lib.cam.ac.uk/repositories/7/archival_objects/860981
https://arcspace-pub.lib.cam.ac.uk/repositories/7/archival_objects/860983
Philip Gardner was born in Liverpool and was a school friend of Matt Simpson who himself went on to become a published poet and had a close friendship with Nicholson. Gardner studied at King's College, Cambridge, before gaining a PhD at Liverpool University. In 1964 he joined the English Department at the Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada, where he was Associate Professor of English at the time his book on Nicholson was published in 1973. He retired in 2001.
posted 18/7/22
There's more information and contact details for anyone wishing to make an appointment to examine these manuscripts via these links supplied by the Archive Centre:
https://arcspace-pub.lib.cam.ac.uk/repositories/7/archival_objects/860971
https://arcspace-pub.lib.cam.ac.uk/repositories/7/archival_objects/860981
https://arcspace-pub.lib.cam.ac.uk/repositories/7/archival_objects/860983
Philip Gardner was born in Liverpool and was a school friend of Matt Simpson who himself went on to become a published poet and had a close friendship with Nicholson. Gardner studied at King's College, Cambridge, before gaining a PhD at Liverpool University. In 1964 he joined the English Department at the Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada, where he was Associate Professor of English at the time his book on Nicholson was published in 1973. He retired in 2001.
posted 18/7/22
Norman and the Queen
Congratulations to Her Majesty on her Jubilee! Which among many other uplifting spin-offs gives us the chance to remember the day in 1977 (another Royal Jubilee year) when Norman visited Buckingham Palace to receive the Queen's Medal for Poetry.
'The day was described by Peggy Troll, writing in Comet in 2016 and drawing on a letter sent by Norman's wife Yvonne to his cousin Doreen Cornthwaite. The Queen's 90th birthday that year had been marked by an event at St George's Church, when Peggy spoke about Norman's award. She wrote in Comet: 'I was able to quote some of Yvonne's description of the day. Sir John Betjeman, then Poet Laureate, escorted Norman and Yvonne with their two nieces, Liz and Sarah, to the Palace. The ceremony, which only Norman and Sir John attended, lasted about fifteen minutes. Yvonne writes, It went marvellously. He (Norman) was very good indeed, Sir John reported. He also told us that before Norman went in, the Queen had read aloud several lines from 'On the Closing of Millom Ironworks', saying she liked them. The Queen kept the copy of 'Stitch and Stone' "to read when I have some time. This has been such a busy year but I have found it encouraging." '
Norman and Yvonne at Buckingham Palace, 1977
posted 4/6/22
Architectural Heritage Fund doubles our money!
Our project to buy and renovate Norman Nicholson's home in Millom has chalked up a major success thanks to the Architectural Heritage Fund.
The AHF, which works to promote the conservation and sustainable re-use of historic buildings for the benefit of communities across the UK, has awarded the project Crowdfunder Challenge status. This means they will match pound-for-pound all money raised by Nicholson House’s online crowdfunding campaign.
Chair of Norman Nicholson House Charlie Lambert said: ‘This is wonderful news, especially because the AHF are backdating this award so that all the money we’ve raised so far has doubled overnight. Our GoFundMe campaign has just hit its initial target of £10,000 and we will now extend that target, knowing that every donation immediately becomes worth twice as much’.
It means that the project has now secured over £126,000 from a range of sources towards its aim to turn the house in St George’s Terrace into a place that will make a lively contribution to the community, as well as celebrating the life and work of the poet. Charlie said: ‘We are well on our way, but we are still talking to funding organisations because this is a sizeable and ambitious project.’
Donate through the Crowdfunder campaign – and your money will immediately be doubled by the Architectural Heritage Fund. Find out more about project to buy and renovate the house at www.normannicholsonhouse.co.uk
posted 19/1/22
The AHF, which works to promote the conservation and sustainable re-use of historic buildings for the benefit of communities across the UK, has awarded the project Crowdfunder Challenge status. This means they will match pound-for-pound all money raised by Nicholson House’s online crowdfunding campaign.
Chair of Norman Nicholson House Charlie Lambert said: ‘This is wonderful news, especially because the AHF are backdating this award so that all the money we’ve raised so far has doubled overnight. Our GoFundMe campaign has just hit its initial target of £10,000 and we will now extend that target, knowing that every donation immediately becomes worth twice as much’.
It means that the project has now secured over £126,000 from a range of sources towards its aim to turn the house in St George’s Terrace into a place that will make a lively contribution to the community, as well as celebrating the life and work of the poet. Charlie said: ‘We are well on our way, but we are still talking to funding organisations because this is a sizeable and ambitious project.’
Donate through the Crowdfunder campaign – and your money will immediately be doubled by the Architectural Heritage Fund. Find out more about project to buy and renovate the house at www.normannicholsonhouse.co.uk
posted 19/1/22
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Explore Millom and surrounding area:
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