InfoBritain
Custom Search
Nuneaton, Warwickshire And George Eliot This image is copyright free
The nineteenth century novelist George Eliot was born as Mary Ann Evans in 1819 on the Arbury Estate, about four miles from Nuneaton. Her father Robert Evans was a land agent for the estate centred on Arbury Hall, an Elizabethan mansion which had been home to the Newdigate family for over four hundred years. The house and gardens are open for visiting on a limited basis - see below for details. In Nuneaton itself George Eliot is commemorated with a statue in Newdigate Square, right in the centre of Nuneaton. Some of her belongings are now kept at the Nuneaton Museum and Art Gallery. A recreated drawing room is used to display Eliot's grand piano and writing desk. The town library has the largest public collection of George Eliot material in Britain.
Nuneaton became Milby in George Eliot's writing. The street she called Orchard Street is based on Church Street. Just off Church Street is the George Eliot Memorial park, where there is a memorial obelisk.
The house where George Eliot moved to when she was six months old, Griff House, a Georgian farmhouse still survives and is now a Beefeater restaurant and travel inn, on the B4113, just south of Nuneaton.
As a young girl Mary Ann Evans tried hard to be the best. She went to an evangelical school, and was very earnest in her belief. Later after reading of the latest scientific discoveries of the day, she was equally earnest in her unbelief, refusing to go to church. A "Holy War" ensued as family and friends tried to make her see sense. For a start, she was unlikely to find a husband if she didn't go to church. Eventually she started attending again to spare her father's feelings. Chilvers Coton Church was the local church of the Evans family throughout Mary's childhood. She was baptised here. Two of her brothers, and both of her parents are buried in the churchyard.
Arbury Hall, Warwickshire
Opening Times: Opening is limited to Bank Holiday weekends only, Easter to August. Check opening days and times using contact details below. Dogs on leads are welcome in the grounds.
Address: Arbury, Nuneaton, Warwickshire CV10 7PT
Directions: Arbury Hall is just off the A444 south of Nuneaton. Click here for an interactive map centred on Arbury Hall.
Contact:
telephone: 024 7638 2804
web site: http://www.arburyestate.co.uk/
Nuneaton Museum and Art Gallery
Opening Times: Tuesday to Saturday 10.30am - 4.30pm and Sunday 2pm - 4.30pm. Open bank holiday Mondays unless they fall at Christmas. The museum is closed 24th -28th December, 31st December and 1st January.
Directions: The museum is in Coton Road, Nuneaton. Click here for an interactive map centred on Nuneaton Museum and Art Gallery
Access: Wheelchair access is good in all areas. There are adapted toilet facilities.
Contact:
telephone: 024 7635 0720
fax: 024 7634 3559
e-mail: museum@nuneatonandbedworth.gov.uk
web site: http://www.nuneatonandbedworth.gov.uk/leisure-culture/museums-galleries/museum-and-art-gallery
Chilvers Coton Church
Opening Times: Open to visitors on Wednesdays between 10am and 2pm. There is usually a coffee morning on the first Saturday in every month from 10am - 11.30am.
Address: Chilvers Coton Church, Avenue Road, Nuneaton, Warwickshire CV11 4NQ
Directions: The church is in Avenue Road near the junction with Coventry Road. Click here for an interactive map centred on Chilvers Coton Church.
Contact:
telephone: 024 7638 3010
web site: http://www.acny.org.uk/venue.php?V=12979