George Herbert
became rector here in 1630 and died two years later, aged 42. He lies
within the altar rails of the church and the tablet above is simply
inscribed G.H., 1633. The lines on the Parsonage wall and written by
the parson-poet were originally above the chimney inside. They run
thus:--
"If thou chance for to find
A new house to thy mind,
And built without any cost,
Be good to the poor
As God gives thee store
And then thy labour's not lost."
In the garden that slopes down to the river there was quite recently,
and may be still, an old and gnarled medlar planted by Herbert. The
well-known painting "George Herbert at Bemerton" by W. Dyce, R.A., in
the Guildhall Art Gallery, gives an excellent picture of the calm
grace of the surroundings and of the heavenly spire of the Cathedral
soaring up into the skies a mile away. The fine new memorial church at
Bemerton is used for the regular Sunday services and Herbert's little
old church for worship on weekdays. It is pleasant to think that the
bells which sound so sweetly across the meadows, as we take the
footpath way to Salisbury, are those that were rung by Herbert when he
first entered his church.
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