Transformation Thurrock : Joseph Conrad commemorated in Stanford

Joseph Conrad commemorated in Stanford

On Sunday 5 September 2010, members of the Jospeh Conrad Society joined with members of the local community and the Lady Mayoress of Thurrock, Cllr Anne Cheale, to unveil a plaque commemorating Polish author Joseph Conrad's residence at Ivy Walls Farm in Stanford-le-Hope.

The plaque is situated close to the site where Ivy Walls stood - the original Elizabethan farmhouse was demolished nearly 90 years ago.

Before this, the group went to see Victoria Road, also in Stanford. This is where the Conrads lived prior to moving to Ivy Walls.

There was also a buffet luncheon at The Crooked Billet Public House in Billet Lane and a meeting with 'local history buffs'.

Cllr Anne Cheale greeted the gathering, at which Jonathan Caton, local historian and curator at the Thurrock Local History Museum, spoke. Keith Carabine, the Joseph Conrad Society's Chair, also addressed the participants, pointing out that the plaque is the third to mark the homes of Joseph Conrad. (There are others in Gillingham Street, London, and at Oswalds in Bishopsbourne near Canterbury.)

Mr Carabine also noted the international character of Conrad's life, picking up the motto of Thurrock, "From the Thames to all Peoples of the World", and read a section from Joseph's wife Jessie's memoirs which recount her experiences at Ivy Walls, where Conrad completed The Nigger of the Narcissus and wrote Karain: A Memory and The Return.

Conrad is probably best known for writing Heart of Darkness, upon which the graphic surreal Vietnam War film Apocalypse Now - directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Marlon Brando - is based.

Adapted from http://www.josephconradsociety.org/news.htm

adapted from an article on the Joesph Conrad Socie, 12/12/2010