Hilary Townsend was born and
brought up in the Blackmore
Vale area of North Dorset,
where she still lives. It is a
relatively unknown part of
Dorset and she has always
loved it. During her career as a
personnel manager in industry
and college lecturer in
management subjects, she
wrote constantly in connection
with her work.
Then the stone tiled roof of her
North Dorset house threatened
to fall down. To her
astonishment, the house was
found to be part of a medieval
hall house with a Tudor
extension, and the expense of
the repairs enormous.
Desperate for money, she took a short course in journalism and wrote
about medieval property and customs for North American magazines and
a radio station, work which was well received on a continent with no
really old houses.
Made redundant when her college closed, Hilary was able become a full
time writer and broadcaster. `I wrote about anything an editor could be
persuaded to take`, she says. `And I still do`. She was accepted as a
member of the Society in 1991, then as a member of the Society of
Authors.
Later the house was severely damaged by a leaking highway drain,
bringing more expense and the exciting discovery of original features
concealed for centuries. Hilary has written and published material about
every stage of the restoration of the house. She now writes magazine
features and lectures widely about the work, while making it available to
specialists in vernacular architecture. She also writes and gives lectures
about the Blackmore Vale, its history, landscape and customs and gives
readings of the poetry of William Barnes and Thomas Hardy. A book about
the restoration is nearing completion.
Her books include: Discover Dorset – The Blackmore Vale and Blackmore
Vale Childhood (The Dovecote Press). A book about the restoration of her
Medieval/Tudor house is nearing completion.
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