Percy Bysshe Shelley with The Shelley Memorial Project - Episode 36

English romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley was born at Field Place in Warnham in 1792, spending his formative years at his family home. His family is well-connected with the Horsham District too. 

While he wrote famous poems such as Ozymandias, Queen Mab and To A Skylark and influenced many poets and writers, including Robert Browning, WB Yeats, Thomas Hardy and George Bernard Shaw, Shelley - whose second wife Mary Shelley authored the famous gothic novel Frankenstein - never knew fame during his lifetime. 

Despite Percy Bysshe Shelley's posthumous influence and literary reputation, many of us are unaware of the writer's connection to Horsham and know little about his life, other than his works. However, our guests for this episode - Carol Hayton and David Hide - directors of The Shelley Memorial Project - are among those hoping to change that. 

The Shelley Memorial Project wants to create a lasting public memorial to Percy Bysshe Shelley to commemorate Horsham's famous former citizen. 

To find out more, we gathered around a table at the Shelley Arms in Broadbridge Heath to talk about Shelley, his connection to Horsham, and the project's plans to honour him.