Information
Masters lived at 19 Court Street, where he composed several works with a popular flavour and local appeal, including ‘Dick and Sal at Canterbury’ (c.1820) and ‘Richard and Sarah Waiting for the Train’. The latter describes how the couple miss their train and decide to explore Faversham until the next one arrives. The text gives a vivid impression of Faversham in the mid-nineteenth century, weaving local anecdotes with descriptions of the town and its activities:
Quotations
We hurried by the Blacksmith’s Forge,
And just as we had pass’d the ‘George’
The Porter shut the gate,
Foot passengers began to throng,
The train like a fury came along,
We found we were too late.
…
Then from the Station winding round
We reached the Recreation Ground
And sat down on a chair.
Delightful seemed the varied hue
Of shrub and flower, and pleasing too –
A steamer in the distant view.
And highly pleased we were.
…
Now, as we’ve heard the clock strike ten,
Who to’ard the Station turn again,
By far-famed Newton Road –
So gently sloped, so smoothly spread,
So straight, and of such easy tread,
So well drained and so broad.
But hark! there goes the Teynham bell:
Sonorous tinklings surely tell,
The downward train is near.
The smoke is seen, the rumbling heard,
The signal lowers at the word,
The train! the train is here.
Place | Extract |
| Faversham | Masters lived at 19 Court Street, where he composed several works with a popular flavour and local appeal, including ‘Dick and Sal at Canterbury’ (c... |
