Welcome to the Society’s Media Section where you can explore the life, works and enduring legacy of one of England’s greatest nature writers.
This page features recorded lectures, talks, interviews and special events presented by leading scholars, writers and enthusiasts, offering fresh perspectives on Richard Jefferies’ writing, his influence on nature literature, and the landscapes that inspired him.
Whether you are discovering Jefferies for the first time or are a long-standing admirer, these videos and recordings provide an engaging resource for anyone interested in literature, natural history and the English countryside. The Richard Jefferies Society is dedicated to promoting appreciation and understanding of Jefferies’ life and work through publications, events, research and education.
Jefferies Land
This film was devised, produced and directed for the Richard Jefferies Society by the late John Webb in 2001.
Richard Jefferies (1848-1887) chronicled the people, landscapes and wildlife of his part of north Wiltshire in many of his celebrated books. This film attempts to capture those places that would still be recognised by him today (2001), albeit that much is being destroyed with the urban sprawl of Swindon.
The Practical Wisdom in Jefferies Work.
Andrew Rossabi is president of the Richard Jefferies Society. In August 2023 he gave this highly knowledgeable illustrated lecture about Jefferies.
Andrew begins with a few general remarks about Jefferies, moves on to a potted biography illustrated with excepts from his writings, and winds up by suggesting why Jefferies is still worth reading today, 175 years after his birth. Andrew touches on many of Jefferies works: Wood Magic, Bevis, Autobiography of my Heart, the Amateur Poacher, the Gamekeeper at Home and many more.
RJS talk – Richard Jefferies and environmental spirituality by Patrick Dillon
Richard Jefferies: The Man on the Hill, part 1
This two-part tribute to Richard Jefferies (1848-1887) was produced in the centenary year of the writer’s death, 1987.
Richard Jefferies: The Man in the Hill, part 2
This is the second in the two-part tribute to Richard Jefferies (1848-1887) on the centenary anniversary of the writer’s death. Produced by Roger Frith and Barrie Gavin with readings by Paul Scofield.
Tribute to Richard Jefferies, 1948
The silent film runs for fourteen minutes and shows Richard Jefferies’ birthplace and home at Coate; his books and places that were special to the writer that include Liddington Hill; the Gamekeeper’s Cottage at Hodson along with keeper Jack Jones and Coate Water. There is a charming re-enactment of a scene from Jefferies’ boys adventure story: ‘Bevis’, where local boys wield hand-made wooden swords at Coate Water in a mock battle (albeit that this was filmed at Queens Park, Swindon).
The Richard Jefferies Museum
Film shot at the Richard Jefferies Museum on 25 May 2010. The Old House at Coate, birthplace of Richard Jefferies
Richard Jefferies’ Coate
In Autumn 2006 The Richard Jefferies Society was approached by “Points West”, our regional BBC TV station, to help make a short film about the Coate area.
All Aglow | An Orchestral Folk Adventure
“All Aglow” is a luminous, string-driven piece capturing the wonder of childhood adventure. Inspired by Bevis by Richard Jefferies, it follows the rise and fall of a boy’s handmade raft, from eager launch to abrupt end.
Richard Jefferies Society Spring Lecture 2022
Dr Mike Pringle, the Director of the Richard Jefferies Museum Trust was invited to give an illustrated talk about the work of the Trust and a tour of the Museum and grounds on 7 May 2022.
The Drift of Time
Radio play about the nature writer, Richard Jefferies.
Extract from “Amaryllis at the Fair” read by Sir Simon Russell Beale
This extract read by Sir Simon Russell Beale is from “Amaryllis at the Fair”, published in 1887, and the last book to be published in Jefferies’ lifetime.
Frank Bridge: Two Poems after Richard Jefferies for orchestra H.118 (1915)
Two poems after Richard Jefferies for Orchestra by Frank Bridge (1915)