The headstone of poet John Betjeman's grave in St Enedoc's churchyard, Rock, Cornwall
Sir John Betjeman, CBE (August 1906 – May 1984) was an English poet, writer and broadcaster who described himself in Who's Who as a "poet and hack". He was Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom from 1972 until his death. He was a founding member of the Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture. Starting his career as a journalist, he ended it as one of the most popular British Poets Laureate and a much-loved figure on British television. He fought a spirited but unsuccessful campaign to save the Propylaeum, known commonly as the Euston Arch, London. He is considered instrumental in helping to save St Pancras railway station, London. For the last decade of his life Betjeman suffered increasingly from Parkinson's Disease. He died at his home in Trebetherick, Cornwall on 19 May 1984, aged 77, and is buried half a mile away at St Enodoc's Church, Rock. St Enodoc's church is situated in sand dunes east of Daymer Bay and Brea Hill on the River Camel estuary, near Rock in Cornwall. Wind-driven sand has formed banks that are almost level with the roof on two sides. From the 16th century to the middle of the 19th century, the church was virtually buried by the dunes. The church is surrounded by the Church golf course of the St Enodoc Golf Club, and is said to lie on the site of a cave where St Enodoc lived as a hermit.
Size: 3730px × 4662px
Location: St Enedoc Church, Rock, Cornwall, United Kingdom
Photo credit: © Niall Ferguson / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: bells, betjeman, camelford, church, cornwall, daymer, enedoc, grave, john, laureate, padstow, poet, rock, society, st, summoned, victorian
