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Boulge Church

In the grounds of the demolished Boulge Hall lies this church, financed by the Fitzgeralds and full of their family history. In the grounds is the Fitzgerald Mausoleum. We arrived at the church one friday evening when the weather was dull and grey, much to the amusement of the caretaker who assured us that the sun would not shine. A little faith rewarded us with just five minutes of delightful low sunlight, which licked its warmth across the church just briefly whilst we took our pictures. A magical moment.

Boulge Cottage

Edward FitzGerald, referred to as EFG from this point, lived at Boulge Cottage as he liked to be private and did not want to live at the hall. This picture dates from the original cottage and bears little relation to the one that occupies the spot now.

Little Grange

Situated in Woodbridge, Little Grange was taken over and extended by EFG and was to be his home for many years. This picture is contemporary from his time there.

Little Grange 2006

And here is Little Grange as it looks today - a very fine house indeed. It is interesting to note how a Victorian gentleman assessed his needs and in fact described this vast property as small...

It is now occupied by a retired Doctor and his wife, and I thank them for being so courteous and allowing me to photograph their home.

The Scandal

EFG was a man of the sea, and loved to meet and drink with the local fisher-men. This was his boat The Scandal, in which he travelled to Europe as often as he could. Sometimes he lived on the boat for months at a time, only returning to the land when winter set in and he was forced back to his lodgings or to Little Grange.

The Grave

This is EFGs grave in the grounds of Boulge Church. Characteristically he was not buried in the family mausoleum, which is just behind us, but lies separately in this simple and unassuming solitary grave. At the head of the grave lies a rose taken from a cutting brought from the grave of Omar Khyyam in Nashapur, Persia, now known as Iran. The rose is ailing these days and i am told that an expert has been called in to attempt to treat it.

Many people travelled to the grave as 100 years passed from EFGs death, but now the church and its grounds are quiet once more.

The Balfour Family

The Balfours are only connected tangentially to the Fitzgeralds. My Great Aunt Elsie married her Dr FitzGerald on 31st december 1940 in a quiet ceremony that no-one knew about, not even her sister Minnie Fletcher. They then went back to work and lived separately for three months before the world was told of their union. Minnie fletcher became Minnie Balfour when she married Jack Balfour, a dentist. Jack's father, Andrew, is shown at right, and his tale is told elsewhere.

Omar Khyyam

Omar is the 11th century astronomer-poet of Persia and his quatrains have become famous in the west through the exotically free translation of EFG. This is by no means a literal translation but more of an expression of the feeling and passion of the original, presented in a form that can be understood by western minds. My favourite quatrain remains:

"The Moving finger writes, and, having writ, moves on. Nor all your piety nor wit shall lure it back to cancel half a line, nor all your tears wash out a word of it."

Further Reading

There are hundreds if not thousands of versions of the Rubaiyat available. Even today Amazon has over 200 different editions. There are five editions of the poem and the number of quatrains varies between them. many editions have all the variations and these are the ones of choice. After that, try EFGs letters, also available in many editions. The Platonic-style dialogue Euphranor is also an interesting read. Salaman and Absal, the story of Solomon, is an easy read to modern minds. Some of the other stuff is much more obscure and poems like Bird Parliament do not appeal to me at least.