Larling

The critic and political writer John Middleton Murry (1889-1957) moved into the Old Rectory at Larling in 1931. Murry was the editor of The Adelphi - a radical journal which he founded in 1923. He also had a close friendship with D. H. Lawrence. In 1931 he published a controversial study of Lawrence entitled Son of Woman.

John Middleton Murry

His first wife, the short story writer Katherine Mansfield, died of tuberculosis. His second wife Violet le Maistre also succumbed to the same illness and, in a state of grief, he married his housekeeper Betty Cockbayne. Betty was a highly emotional and volatile person who frequently flew into violent rages which made life at Larling extremely difficult for both Murry and his children.

Colin and Katherine Middleton Murry - who were his children by Violet - both wrote autobiographies which dealt with their upbringing at Larling. In Beloved Quixote Katherine recalled her step mother's terrible fits of temper.  Colin's memories were entitled One Hand Clapping and Shadows on the Grass but were slightly less troubled.

Later in life, Murry became interested in self supporting agricultural communities and set up Lodge Farm at Thelnetham - just over the border in Suffolk. He finally found happiness here with his fourth wife Mary Gamble. Ironically, after searching all his life for a creed, he finally settled for the Church of England; he is buried in the churchyard at Thelnetham.

Grave of John Middleton Murry in Thelnetham Churchyard