The Banks of Wye; A Poem. In Four Books, 1811, 1813, 1823.

Manuscripts

The British Library holds four manuscripts stemming from Bloomfield’s Wye tour:

1. BL Add. MS 28265, ff. 47-96. The Banks of Wye. / a / Poetical Journal. Aug. 17. 1807. 49ff. 32 cm x 20 cm. Watermark: L M MUNN / KENT / 1807. Working draft, in black ink and in pencil. Many passages extensively reworked. Ends with a draft of the interpolated poem to Morris of Piercefield and with notes towards the concluding book of the poem.

2. BL Add. MS 28265, ff. 97-162. The Banks of Wye. / a / Poetical Journal / of a Tour through the Counties of Monmouth, Brecknock, Hereford, & Gloucester, / in the summer of 1807. / In Four Books / By &c / Printed for Vernor, Hood, &c &cc / and the author. 65ff. 32 cm x 20 cm. Watermark: Medallion of Britannia surmounted by a crown (ff. 97-134); W. Tucker / 1808 (ff. 135-62). Fair copy, in black ink with pencil emendations, except ff. 103-05 and 158-63 in pencil; ff. 103-05 have been misplaced when the MS leaves were gathered for binding: consisting of the concluding lines of the poem, they should follow f. 163. Ends with Bloomfield’s note to himself, after the poem’s final line: ‘Well done little Snob!’

3. BL Add. MS 28265, ff. 163-213. The Banks of Wye. / a / Poetical Journal of a Ten Days Tour / Through the Counties / of Monmouth, Brecknock, Hereford, & Gloucester. / In the Summer of 1807. / In Four Books. 50ff. 32 cm x 20 cm. Watermarks: Medallion of Britannia surmounted by a crown; other folios FELLOWS / 1807. Printer’s copy, in black ink with emendations in the same ink. In another hand on top right of f. 165 ‘3000 foolscapedvo’. Contains Bloomfield’s notes and a key for relating the footnotes to the text. Paginated in Bloomfield’s hand: pp. 1-48 (Books I-III), pp. 1-17 (Book IV), followed by 8 unpaginated folios.

4. BL Add. MS 28267. JOURNAL / of A / TEN DAYS TOUR / FROM ULEY in GLOUCESTERSHIRE, BY WAY / of ROSS; Down the RIVER WYE to CHEPSTOW; / ABERGAVENNY, BRECON, HEREFORD, MALVERN. / &c. &c. / Augst 1807. 59ff. 38 cm x 24 cm. Watermarks: none. Sketchbook. Bloomfield’s prose journal, containing sketches, sketch-maps in his hand, and tipped-in engraved maps.