19 April 2010

The Rev Dr Ebenezer Cobham Brewer, and Edwinstowe, Nottinghamshire

The Rev Dr Ebenezer Cobham Brewer wrote forty books on various subjects, from scripture to book-keeping, but is most noted for what became known as Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. He spent his last years in Edwinstowe, Nottinghamshire, and is buried in the parish church of St Mary's.

There is a sign near the church entrance which relates that the (legendary) Robin Hood and Maid Marian were said to have been married in Edwinstowe. And this legend is one that the village exploits in its pubs and shops, and recently in a large metal sculpture of the pair in a prominent position in the High Street. The stories of Robin Hood are full of action, excitement, and of course romance: this is Kevin Costner country, certainly, but Ebenezer Cobham Brewer is no such Hollywood attraction, and his grave lies — that being the operative word — in a lamentable state:

His cross has fallen, and there are no apparent attempts to put it back. How it is possible to allow an important man to be forgotten, and yet an imaginary couple to be feted so? OK, a man who had his bed-sitting room walls covered in white paper so he could write on them is not quite as sexy as a young, handsome pair, is he? He's not bringing any money in for the village either, is he?

NEW: The good news is in the link below:

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Ebenezer Cobham Brewer's Grave in Edwinstowe (2012 update)

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