Local History

Dorothy L Sayers was born in Oxford in 1893 into an academic environment - her father was the headmaster of Christchurch Cathedral Choir school and later Dorothy returned to Oxford to study at Somerville College.

After a number of career paths, including teaching and advertising, Sayers discovered her calling lay in literature and fiction writing in particular was her first success.

Lord Peter Wimsey was her most famous creation

Her creation of the aristocrat sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey first appeared in 1923 in the novel 'Whose Body?' and went on to feature in over 10 other stories up until the out break of hostilities in 1939.

Seona Ford, the Vice-Chair of the Dorothy L Sayers Society, says the period in which not only Sayers, but also contemporaries Agatha Christie and Margery Allingham were writing represented a 'golden age of detective fiction'.

"The idea of the aristocratic sleuth like Lord Peter Wimsey obviously appealed to people at that time and she was very successful," explains Seona.

Sayers' talents didn't just lie in fiction though. She also became an established playwright, poet, respected theologian, essay-writer and also translator of work by Dante.

Sayers lived in Newland Street for 27 years

The tranquility of Witham

For nearly 30 years of her life, Sayers spent much of her time in Witham, moving into a town house in Newland Street in 1930.

After her father had died, she looked for somewhere for her elderly mother and aunt to live and settled on the quiet mid-Essex town, as it was reasonably rural yet easy to commute to and from London, where Dorothy and her husband lived.

As it turned out, her mother and aunt also died soon after her father, so the house in Witham was initially used by the couple as a weekend retreat and gradually they came to live there.

Sayers continued to live in Witham until her death in 1957. Unlike now, the town was then a relatively small place and certainly a far cry from the hustle and bustle of London.

The Sayers name is well-known by Witham residents

Seona Ford believes this was the main attraction for Sayers: "She was in the true sense a workaholic.

"For Dorothy, it was a place where she could work and not get disturbed by her friends in London and the social life there.

"The ability to come away from London and its social scene, sit in her library and think must have been very influential. She also had her garden to look after as well, and her cats, which she was very fond of.

"Her husband had been a journalist and was a very intelligent man, so here they were able to have the conversations... Witham allowed her to develop herself as a thinker," she adds.

Super Sayers

Being a workaholic and involved with all manner of projects, Sayers wasn't a particularly active member of Witham life.

A plaque marks Sayers' house in Newland Street

"Although she loved conversation, she didn't have time for coffee mornings or chatting about the weather, or the best way to drive to Frinton," says Seona. "She wanted to work, so she didn't want to get involved [with local life]."

Following her death in 1957, the Sayers name has lived on in the town, through the naming of a road in the Rickstones area and a bronze statue opposite her former home.

However, Seona believes the town was initially slow to celebrate her achievements.

"For a long time after she died the town didn't really want to know about her, because she hadn't really been a big part of the town and if I'm honest, I don't think the town recognised just what a remarkable person she was," she says.

"But, in the last 10 years or so things have begun to change and I think that's because the town recognises it had a remarkable woman in its midst for a long time."

The museum features her work with Guinness

This has been helped in no small part by the Dorothy L Sayers Society, shares responsibility for a centre  dedicated to her life in the town's library, commissioned the bronze statue and plaque on the exterior of the house she lived in.

"We've got a pretty good archive and collection of her books," says Seona.

"The centre is normally kept locked, but can be opened on request and I'm always very happy to meet people here to give them a tour around, and answer their questions.

"For anyone interested in Dorothy Sayers there's a lot to see. For example, there's so many people who come who don't know about the Guinness connection.

"I think the town are now much more proud of her than they were. In my view, she's beginning to be recognised for what she was - a very remarkable person."