Lord Byron enthusiast calls for town's recognition

Geoffrey Bond often imagines Lord Byron "looking down" as he sits in what was once the 19th Century poet's former bedroom.

The 85-year-old has lived in Burgage Manor in Southwell, Nottinghamshire, for 33 years - where Byron stayed with his mother between 1803 and 1808, before rising to fame in 1812.

While Newstead Abbey is more famously known as Byron's ancestral home, Mr Bond believes his beginnings in Southwell have been overlooked.

Mr Bond has dedicated decades to his fascination and love for Byron and his work and now says he wants Byron's beginnings in the town to get due recognition.

"People often ask me 'have you any ghosts, Geoffrey?'

"I say I don't but I often imagine Byron looking down at me and wondering 'who is that rather odd man?'," he said.

Mr Bond developed a fascination for the poet's life and work while he was at university and went on to become closely involved in Byron societies, as well as other heritage organisations while working as a lawyer and businessman.

When Burgage Manor was on the market three decades ago, Mr Bond was in a "fortunate enough position" to buy it.

He knew of the property's associations when he bought it and has spent the last three decades filling it with memorabilia.

"There wasn't a scintilla of Byron here when I first came," he said.

A number of unpublished poems and letters written to Byron's acquaintances are among his private collection and helped to inform parts of Mr Bond's new book, he said.

"This is where he started his poetry.

"It's exciting to think that in this house this man walked about, strolled about and started his famous career here," Mr Bond said.

Over the years, Mr Bond said he had been visited by fellow enthusiasts from as far afield as Japan and occasionally opened up the property's gardens to visitors.

He said he hoped Byron's earlier life would earn Southwell - and neighbouring Newark, where some of his early works were published - local recognition for its cultural relevance.

The author said he planned to campaign for Burgage Manor to be awarded a Historic England blue plaque in 2025, as well push local authorities to find ways to celebrates the poet's legacy.

"Nottinghamshire is very well-known for the legend of Robin Hood but it's now time for Southwell and Newark to be recognised for the role they played in bringing Byron's early poetry to the general public," he added.

Rowan Cozens, Newark and Sherwood District Council's portfolio holder for heritage, arts and culture, said: "At the council, we look forward to exploring ways of celebrating and promoting the legacy of Lord Byron in Newark and Southwell."

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