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Sign up todayPaupers and Pig Killers from the diaries of William Holland
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Learn moreA BBC Radio dramatisation of the real-life diaries of a West Country village parson, writing at the turn of the 19th Century
'A good diary can provide an unsurpassed entry into society, and the diary of William Holland is a very good diary indeed' The Spectator
On October 25th, 1799 - his 18th wedding anniversary - cantankerous Somerset parson William Holland begins his diary, chronicling events at the vicarage and in the small farming community of Over Stowey. He would keep it for the next 19 years, candidly recording the small trials of day-to-day life - from chaotic church services and unruly locals to lazy servants and irksome in-laws.
As the new century dawns, he finds himself dealing with parish problems and domestic dramas: including a madman in the poorhouse, a drunkard in the pulpit, and his wife's prattling cousin in the house. At harvest time, he has his work cut out collecting tithes from the local farmers, and his troubles are further compounded by an escaped cow, some curious medical complaints, and an audacious plum-plunderer...
Paying a social visit to Bath with his family, the hectic pace has him longing for the relative peace and quiet of home. And back at the parsonage, his life is transformed when his manservant Robert resolves to give up drinking and womanizing. But will it last?
Full of humorous observations and comic incident, this delightful journal paints a unique picture of a wonderful collection of characters, and the entertaining and often hilarious things that happen to them. Dramatised by Eric Pringle, it is brought to life by a full cast of well-known actors, and stars Ronald Pickup as William Holland, Rosemary Martin and Rowena Cooper as his wife, Mary, and Gavin Muir as Robert.
Production credits
Written by William Holland
Dramatised by Eric Pringle
Directed by Cherry Cookson
Cast
William Holland - Ronald Pickup
Mary - Rosemary Martin/Rowena Cooper
Robert - Gavin Muir
Miss Dodwell - Tessa Worsley
Mr Amen - Gordon Gostelow
Farmer Morle - David Collings
William Frost/Farmer Landsey - David Timson
Rector Reekes/Ben Hunt - John Hartley
Thomas Poole/Farmer Trant/Porter - Stephen Critchlow
Mrs Southcomb - Margaret Courtenay
Farmer CottleMr Lewis - Andrew Branch
Margaret/Hannah/Betty/Little Will - Jane Whittenshaw
Sally Hill/Grace - Caroline Strong
With Tilly Gaunt, Giles Fagan and Ben Crowe
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 7-21 February 1996 (Series 1), 29 October-12 November 1999 (Series 2)
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd
Eric Pringle (Author)
Eric Pringle was born and bred in Morpeth, Northumberland, and took a degree in English and American Literature at Nottingham University. After spending several years working in insurance, he ended up writing and editing various publications, including staff newspapers. After deciding to take up writing as a career, Pringle wrote plays and one-off episodes for series on HTV, Yorkshire TV and BBC 2, including The Cornforth Practice in 1974. His play, Jogger, was made by Radio 4 in 1983 and a play in the series The Ten Commandments was transmitted by the BBC's World Service.
Much of Pringle's more recent work has been for the radio, including adaptations of The Wolves of Willoughby Chase and J. B. Priestley's The Good Companions. His 2001 Radio 4 play Hymnus Paradisi about the life of composer Herbert Howells won a Sony Award.
Also in 2001, his children's novel, Big George, illustrated by Colin Paine, was published by Bloomsbury. This has been followed by two sequels: Big George and the Seventh Knight (2002) and Big George and the Winter King (2004).