Poetry in Emotion

Anyone struggling to profess their love this Valentines Day might find inspiration in a visit to the East Riding Archives and Local Studies Service.

One of the many documents held in the archives is the notebook of Margaret Elizabeth Whiteing of Beverley, dating back to 1909. Inside is poetry which, among other subjects, refers to love, and also compassion for others. Margaret Whiteing was born on August 7, 1887, and grew up in Woodlands, Beverley.Her father was George Whiteing, a former Mayor of Beverley around 1897.

One of her poems is “The Gift of Love” which reads:

It is in the loving not in being loved
The heart is blest
It is in the giving, not in seeking gifts We find our quests.

Assurance that my strain hath cheered
One soul if only one
And shed on the dark path if feared
A passing glimps of sun.

Collections officer, Sam Bartle said: “Our records don’t show any evidence of Margaret ever having a loved-one, but this doesn’t mean that she never found her Mr Right. It would be nice to think that she did find her soulmate.”

Margaret eventually moved to Hengate, where at some point she concealed the notebook in a wall and plastered over it. The notebook was rediscovered in 1986, but the reasons for the concealment remain a mystery.

Margaret was not the only one in her family to have a talent for creative writing. Her younger sister Mary was a child author, who wrote the book Topsy published in Beverley.

Tragically, Mary died aged fourteen, and Margaret’s notebook unsurprisingly contains references to her sister and poetry about her grief.
Margaret died on January 26, 1967, aged 79.

To read Margaret Whiteing’s notebook, simply visit the Research Room at the Treasure House, in Champney Road, Beverley.