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Now spirit of Ted Hughes will live on
THE name of Ted Hughes will live on at a flourishing writers' centre after the Poet Laureate's former home was given a new name.
Family, friends and peers of the poet gathered in the sunshine to mark the naming of Lumb Bank The Ted Hughes Arvon Centre as a lasting tribute to the Mytholmroyd-born poet.
His widow Carol Hughes, of Devon, said it was a poignant moment to return to Lumb Bank, Heptonstall, where the couple lived in the early 1970s after they married.
"New generations coming on our courses are not going to know the history and Ted's involvement," said the former president of the foundation.
"I just wanted to ensure Ted's name won't disappear from Arvon and the valley that meant so much to him."
The 18th century buildings opened as a writers' centre in 1975 and were bought by The Arvon Foundation from Ted Hughes' trust in 1989
The foundation, a charity which runs residential writing courses, was formed in Devon in 1968 by poets John Moat and John Fairfax. Its aim was to enable those interested in writing to gain the help of experienced authors.
Ted Hughes was a guest reader at the first course and continued to play a major role in the foundation's success for 30 years until his death in 1998. He was appointed Poet Laureate in 1984.
Stephanie Anderson, national director of Arvon, said most of today's writers would have come through the foundation at one point.
"Ted and Carol were instrumental in setting up and developing Lumb Bank as a writers' centre. It's important that people remember his connection with the place - that's why we've decided to honour him in this way." Poet Tom Paulin read two of Hughes' poems, Thistles and The Dark River.
More than 30 courses are held each year attracting those looking for inspiration in diverse areas such as poetry, fiction, drama, theatre and scriptwriting, from all over the country.
Mr Hughes' first wife, American Sylvia Plath, also a poet, committed suicide in 1963. She is buried in Heptonstall churchyard.
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