THE diaries of the daughter of a Skibbereen landlord, Lionel Becher Fleming, have formed the basis of a fascinating new book, which will be launched in Castletownshend this week.
The Memoirs and Diaries of Judith Isobel Chavasse: An Account of Life in West Cork and Waterford (1867-1935) was written by Dr Rachel Finnegan, who acquired the diaries two years ago, after they had lain uncovered for more than four decades. Judith Isobel Chavasse, née Fleming, was born in Ballydevlin in Goleen in 1867 and lived in New Court House in Skibbereen, as well her marital home at Seafield House in Castletownshend, until her death in 1935.
Rachel told The Southern Star she was gripped from the moment she opened Judith’s first diary entry. In 1890, at the age of 23, which began with: ‘Father died a few minutes before the New Year.’
The book chronicles Judith’s childhood and early adult years through her memoirs, written towards the end of her life, and describes her courtship and married life through an almost complete set of diaries from 1890 to 1933. The final two years of her life, when she stopped keeping her diary, are told through the diaries of her husband, Major Henry (Hal) Chavasse (1863-1943), who survived her for another eight years.
Judith’s days were deeply intertwined with her extensive circle – the Fleming, Reeves, Townshend, Coghill, Becher, Haythornthwaite, Fitzgerald, Somerville-Large, and Somerville families, including novelist Edith Somerville – and filled with her efforts in parish and war work.
The biography delves into Judith’s personal trials, her struggles with domestic life and ill-health, and her devotion to the grand houses that framed her life story, including her mother’s childhood home – Tramore House in Douglas in Cork – and Whitfield Court in Kilmeaden, Co Waterford, where she lived for the first 15 years of her life and raised four sons (a fifth died in infancy). The story of Judith’s privileged life is set against the backdrop of the turbulent times of the Boer War, the First World War, and the Troubles.
The book will be launched by artist and local historian Margaret O’Dwyer on Wednesday July 3rd from 6.30pm to 8pm, at the Warren Gallery in Mary Ann’s Bar in Castletownshend.
Copies are available from local bookshops or direct from the author and publisher at pocockepress.com.
