Located in St Mary’s Churchyard
This magical performance of Williams Wordworth’s classic poem by Nigel Shaw (introduction song performed by Janeen Shaw). A Conwy resident and renowned singer. Followed by an invitation to pay your respects at the respective graves. [Video by Chris Roberts Conwy Classical Music Festival]
The graves referenced in William Wordsworth’s poem “We Are Seven” are believed to be inspired by a churchyard in Conwy, North Wales. This connection stems from Wordsworth’s visits to the region, where he encountered a young girl who inspired the poem. The specific churchyard linked to this poem is St. Mary’s Churchyard in Conwy.
In Conwy, the story goes that Wordsworth visited this churchyard and met a young girl whose conversation with him inspired the poem. The girl insisted that she had six siblings, even though two were buried in the churchyard, leading to the famous lines where she maintains that “We are seven.”
St. Mary’s Church in Conwy is indeed a real place, and many visitors have linked it to Wordsworth’s poem. While it is not definitively proven that this exact churchyard is the one Wordsworth wrote about, the local tradition strongly associates it with “We Are Seven.”
If you visit St. Mary’s Churchyard in Conwy, you’ll find it a serene and historic place, with a sense of the past that aligns with the themes of life, death, and memory explored in Wordsworth’s poetry.
We Are Seven
—A simple Child,
That lightly draws its breath,
And feels its life in every limb,
What should it know of death?
I met a little cottage Girl:
She was eight years old, she said;
Her hair was thick with many a curl
That clustered round her head.
She had a rustic, woodland air,
And she was wildly clad:
Her eyes were fair, and very fair;
—Her beauty made me glad.
“Sisters and brothers, little Maid,
How many may you be?”
“How many? Seven in all,” she said,
And wondering looked at me.
“And where are they? I pray you tell.”
She answered, “Seven are we;
And two of us at Conway dwell,
And two are gone to sea.
Two of us in the church-yard lie,
My sister and my brother;
And, in the church-yard cottage, I
Dwell near them with my mother.”
“You say that two at Conway dwell,
And two are gone to sea,
Yet ye are seven!—I pray you tell,
Sweet Maid, how this may be.”
Then did the little Maid reply,
“Seven boys and girls are we;
Two of us in the church-yard lie,
Beneath the church-yard tree.”
“You run about, my little Maid,
Your limbs they are alive;
If two are in the church-yard laid,
Then ye are only five.”
“Their graves are green, they may be seen,”
The little Maid replied,
“Twelve steps or more from my mother’s door,
And they are side by side.
My stockings there I often knit,
My kerchief there I hem;
And there upon the ground I sit—
I sit and sing to them.
And often after sunset, Sir,
When it is light and fair,
I take my little porringer,
And eat my supper there.
The first that died was sister Jane;
In bed she moaning lay,
Till God released her of her pain;
And then she went away.
So in the church-yard she was laid;
And, when the grass was dry,
Together round her grave we played,
My brother John and I.
And when the ground was white with snow,
And I could run and slide,
My brother John was forced to go,
And he lies by her side.”
“How many are you, then,” said I,
“If they two are in heaven?”
Quick was the little Maid’s reply,
“O Master! we are seven.”
“But they are dead; those two are dead!
Their spirits are in heaven!”
‘Twas throwing words away; for still
The little Maid would have her will,
And said, “Nay, we are seven!”
This poem beautifully captures the innocent and steadfast perspective of the little girl, who insists on including her deceased siblings in her count of the family, reflecting the enduring bond she feels with them despite their physical absence.