A Congregation of Ghosts
Encyclopedia
A Congregation of Ghosts is a 2009 film directed by Mark Collicott
. It is based on the true story of the Reverend Frederick Densham. The film was shot on location in rural Cornwall
in England.
on Bodmin Moor
.
Densham's father, William, had been a Methodist preacher. It is not known why Densham was ordained into the Church of England. As a highly educated man for his time (BA, ACA) he may have felt that the Church of England was more "intellectual". However, his heart and mind lay with Methodism and thus more "Low Church". He entered a church whose congregation was "High Church". Over the years, differences slowly deepened between him and several members of his congregation. The congregation had always been small (four to nine people) and Densham found himself on many occasions preaching to an empty church. He developed the habit of occasionally placing tiny cards in the first six pews, labelled with the names of vicars going back to the Romans. When he did so he noted this in the church records and many local people remember the tiny cards. Unfortunately, Daphne du Maurier imaginatively created a "cardboard cut-out" myth around this practice. This had led to many ill-founded film and website remarks about Densham. Local people, many of whom still remember him though he died in 1953, resent the crude caricatures of the rector and of themselves.
Although Densham was undoubtedly isolated by the Church of England congregation, he was popular among the local Methodists and often preached at Warleggan Chapel. He was a kindly and generous man, known for bringing rhododendron and camellias in spring to villagers and for sending milk to people who were ill. He longed for intellectual stimulation and wrote constantly, sending and receiving several letters a week. When he died, he was cremated as he had stipulated, though his wish that his ashes be scattered in a garden of remembrance that he had created in the grounds of the rectory were ignored.
Mark Collicott
Mark Collicott an English film director and writer.Collicott began his career as a photographer for the NME. His creative approach to portraiture gained him recognition by Angus Mc Bean who cited him in The Sunday Telegraph, as one of the talents of the decade.Attracted to the advertising industry...
. It is based on the true story of the Reverend Frederick Densham. The film was shot on location in rural Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
in England.
Background
Densham was a naive and pious man who worked in Whitechapel in a boys' home and also a home for inebriates. In 1921 he visited Natal in South Africa which is where he may have been influenced by the ideas of Gandhi, who had campaigned for the rights of "coloured people" in that province. There is no evidence for any missionary work in India, though it has been speculated that he visited both India and Germany at a time when travel was much more adventurous than it is today. In 1931 Densham took up the post of vicar in the remote Cornish village of WarlegganWarleggan
Warleggan is a civil parish on the southern edge of Bodmin Moor in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom.The parish is roughly oblong in shape with hamlets near the church and at Mount. The River Warleggan, a tributary of the River Fowey, runs through the parish, forming its western boundary in places...
on Bodmin Moor
Bodmin Moor
Bodmin Moor is a granite moorland in northeastern Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is in size, and originally dates from the Carboniferous period of geological history....
.
Densham's father, William, had been a Methodist preacher. It is not known why Densham was ordained into the Church of England. As a highly educated man for his time (BA, ACA) he may have felt that the Church of England was more "intellectual". However, his heart and mind lay with Methodism and thus more "Low Church". He entered a church whose congregation was "High Church". Over the years, differences slowly deepened between him and several members of his congregation. The congregation had always been small (four to nine people) and Densham found himself on many occasions preaching to an empty church. He developed the habit of occasionally placing tiny cards in the first six pews, labelled with the names of vicars going back to the Romans. When he did so he noted this in the church records and many local people remember the tiny cards. Unfortunately, Daphne du Maurier imaginatively created a "cardboard cut-out" myth around this practice. This had led to many ill-founded film and website remarks about Densham. Local people, many of whom still remember him though he died in 1953, resent the crude caricatures of the rector and of themselves.
Although Densham was undoubtedly isolated by the Church of England congregation, he was popular among the local Methodists and often preached at Warleggan Chapel. He was a kindly and generous man, known for bringing rhododendron and camellias in spring to villagers and for sending milk to people who were ill. He longed for intellectual stimulation and wrote constantly, sending and receiving several letters a week. When he died, he was cremated as he had stipulated, though his wish that his ashes be scattered in a garden of remembrance that he had created in the grounds of the rectory were ignored.
Cast
- Edward WoodwardEdward WoodwardEdward Albert Arthur Woodward, OBE was an English stage and screen actor and singer. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art , Woodward began his career on stage, and throughout his career he appeared in productions in both the West End in London and on Broadway in New York...
as the Reverend Frederick Densham (Woodward's last film role) - Nicholas GleavesNicholas GleavesNicholas Gleaves is an English actor best known for his role as Rick Powell in the television drama series Playing the Field. He also appeared as Tom Bedford in The Chase, from 2006-2007....
as Ellis Baxter - Susannah DoyleSusannah DoyleSusannah Doyle is a British actress, playwright and film director, best known for her roles in situation comedies Drop The Dead Donkey , and Ballykissangel ....
as Barbara Baxter - Murray McArthurMurray McArthurMurray McArthur is a British stage, television and film actor born in Devon in the South West of England on 4 May 1966. The son of a mushroom farmer, of Scottish parentage and red-haired, he often plays Scottish roles. He attended King's School Ottery St...
as George Treddinick - Natasha LittleNatasha LittleNatasha Little is a British actress. She is best known for her work on British television, but has also featured in many film and theatre roles.- Early life :...
as Daphne du MaurierDaphne du MaurierDame Daphne du Maurier, Lady Browning DBE was a British author and playwright.Many of her works have been adapted into films, including the novels Rebecca and Jamaica Inn and the short stories "The Birds" and "Don't Look Now". The first three were directed by Alfred Hitchcock.Her elder sister was...
External links
- "Novice director Mark Collicott makes first film at the age of 48" article by The Times