We visited the Burgage Manor in Southwell to learn more about Geoffrey Bond’s Lord Byron memorabilia and his quest to celebrate the famous romantic poet

An avid collector and well-known Lord Byron author and expert says it’s high time his town did more to celebrate one of its most famous former residents.

Geoffrey Bond, 85, is known for his interest in Lord Byron and has not only collected endless memorabilia about the famed writer (including more than 1,000 books) but has also appeared in several TV shows, written books on Byron and lives in one of the romantic poet’s former homes.

Indeed, for the Southwell resident, Nottinghamshire ought to venerate Byron more than Robin Hood — a figure he dismisses as ‘fictional’ when we visited to find out more about his fascination with a man who was a true megastar during his lifetime.

Growing up in Newark during the war and, in an era without mobile phones and television, Geoffrey said that he read books “voraciously” — but it wasn’t until his teenage years that he discovered Byron.

“I was always mad about book collecting,” he said, “My grandpa had a little library which I used to go into, and as I got into my later teens, I got involved with romantic poets.

“Shelley, Keats, Coleridge, Wordsworth, and, of course, Byron, and of all those people, the one who attracted me more and more because of his life was Byron.”

About 35 years ago, Geoffrey and his wife Dianora bought Lord Byron’s former house in Southwell — Burgage Manor — not only for its history but also for the property’s attractiveness and practical qualities.

“When I arrived, there was not a scintilla of Byron in the house, nothing at all, so, in a way, I put him back.”

Having trained as a lawyer and worked across the country, predominantly in London and Nottinghamshire, Geoffrey moved into the world of heritage later on.

He served on several heritage trusts and was the chairman of Museums, Libraries and Archives of London and the Acceptance in Lieu Panel.

Geoffrey was also one of the first experts on the Antiques Roadshow, and in the 1980s and early 1990s he made about 70 half-hour programmes on heritage – called Something to Treasure.

The first thing he bought for his Byron collection was one of the first books that the poet had published in Newark — Hours of Idleness.

Byron, who lived in Southwell with his mother before moving into Newstead Abbey at the age of 21, wrote his first four books in Southwell and then had them published at Newark’s S. & J. Ridge.

The printer shop, where Lord Byron first saw his words come to life on the page, was on the current G.H. Porters butchers building, on the corner of Market Place and Bridge Street.

Ten years ago, Geoffrey paid for the restoration of the original printing press that Byron used to print his book, which is now on show at the National Civil War Centre in Newark.

His earliest memorabilia includes the first edition volumes of Don Juan, which the poet started writing in Venice in 1819.

“That is the best work Byron wrote, one of the best satires in the English language,” he said, “If there was a fire and I had to grab a book, then I’d grab those books.”

The collector has spent nearly four decades collecting books, busts, portraits, paintings and memorabilia related to Lord Byron, and admits that, despite his interest, he is not “mad about the poet” as some people suggest. Indeed, he also has other collections, including 18th-century Derby porcelain, books on other subjects and the French writer Balzac.

“Byron was a great writer, poet, and letter writer, and he was also, which people forget, a great espouser of democracy like many of his peers in his time in the early 19th century.

“He believed nations should not oppress others, and in fact, he died on April 19, 1824, for the Greek cause in Messolonghi in western Greece, and it enabled the Greeks by 1828 at the Battle of Navarino to get rid of 400 years of oppressive rule by the Ottoman Turks.”

In his house, Geoffrey has his collections on display, but he said that the plan was never to create a ‘Byron House’ — it was just a matter of “collecting things and putting them about”.

Upstairs, Geoffrey has turned the room where Byron used to write letters into Byron’s room, where he displays his books written by and about the poet and other sets of memorabilia.

He’s now on something of a quest to encourage authorities to treat Byron with the affection he believes is deserved.

He explained: “It's alright having fictitious Robin Hood but you have, living here from 1803 to 1808, one of the most famous men in Europe of his day, Byron.

“He was as famous as Napoleon, and not enough is made of it, and I am pleased to say that Newark is taking note and doing things. If Southwell can find some way of portraying Byron rather than this house, I will try and help do so.

“Not many towns can say they have had living in their town such a famous person, because Byron is still studied all over the world today.”

Geoffrey has written three books about Byron — Dangerous to Show, Lord Byron’s Best Friends, and his latest release — Byron’s Manor, where he talks about the birthplace of Byron’s poetry.

He added: “It is important for people to know that he lived in Southwell at the time when he wrote his first four collections and went to Newark to get them published.

“The two towns combine, one as the place of the writing of the works and the other as the publishing of the works, so there's a sort of symbiosis and connection between the two.”

Geoffrey said he had built “wonderful connections” around the world through Byron, as he visited several countries and was involved in different Byron societies, including being chairman of the Byron Society in London and on the board of the American Byron Society.

When asked how he managed to get his hands on so much Lord Byron memorabilia, Geoffrey admitted to frequently having auction catalogues, online research and a good group of friends who keep an eye on the internet.

With a wide interest in heritage and collections, Geoffrey believes that more people should be aware of the importance that both Newark and Southwell have played in the life of one of the UK’s biggest poets.

He is currently working with authorities to promote Byron’s name.