Ronald Blythe CBE is considered one of the greatest writers on the English countryside. His work, which has won countless awards, includes Akenfield (a Penguin 20th Century Classic and a feature film). In 2006 he was awarded the Royal Society of Literature’s prestigious Benson Medal. His many columns for the Church Times, collected in ten volumes, described life at his home of Bottengoms Farm, Suffolk, where he lived and worked until his death in early 2023.

George Herbert came late to the priesthood after exploring a career in political life and served at Lincoln Cathedral and Leighton Bromswold parish before becoming Rector of Bemerton, near Salisbury. It was here that he made his prose picture of the model country parson reflecting in generous measure the humility, energy and compassionate kindness for which he had quickly gained a reputation. He died shortly before his fortieth birthday and only three years after his ordination.