When he died in 2023 aged 100, the acclaimed author of Akenfield, a classic account of rapidly changing rural life in the 1960s, left his ancient farmhouse to Essex Wildlife Trust.
Bottengoms, which sits in almost a hectare (two acres) of overgrown garden that is home to badgers, hornets and the occasional singing nightingale, will be opened up as a sanctuary for people as well as wildlife.
The three-up, three-down yeoman farmer's house, part of which dates back to the 15th century, was bequeathed to Blythe in 1977 by the artists John and Christine Nash, who moved there in the 1940s.
This story is from the November 16, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the November 16, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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