My mother, Sally Seymour, who has died aged 92, was the most resourceful, talented, determined, hard-working woman I have met. She was the inspiration for my father John Seymour’s writing, and together they encouraged thousands of people to live a more sustainable, land-based existence. Their first book on the subject of self-reliance, The Fat of the Land, a story of their life at the Broom, a smallholding near Orford in Suffolk, written by John and illustrated by Sally, was published in 1961, and has been in print ever since.
In 1964 our family moved from Suffolk to a farm near Newport in Pembrokeshire where, together, they wrote Self-Sufficiency, which later became the bestseller The Complete Book of Self-sufficiency. With Sally’s tireless input, and my father’s compelling writing, they managed to resonate with generations of diggers and dreamers. Many people came to our farm and went away with the knowledge that a simpler life, using organic principles and traditional methods, away from the rush towards industrialisation and alienation from the natural world, could be happily achieved.
Sally Seymour built a successful career in handthrown illustrated pottery
Born in London, Sally was the younger daughter of Muriel (nee Anderson) and Frank Medworth, both artists. She and her sister, Diana, were steeped in the disciplines of a creative world. They were brought up in Australia, where the family settled when Sally was five, when Frank became lecturer in charge at what is now the National Art School in Sydney. Sally studied illustration and painting, before sailing back to Britain with her mother in 1951 at the age of 18.
She married John Seymour, a journalist, writer and broadcaster, in 1954, and together they settled into a lifestyle that would prove to complement both their talents and their shared philosophies.
An illustration by Sally Seymour for The Fat of the Land, 1961
Sally showed by example that a self-reliant life was possible with hard work and dedication. While almost singlehandedly maintaining the smallholding and bringing up a family, she also managed to build a very successful career in hand-thrown illustrated pottery, book illustration and painting.
After Sally and John separated in the 1970s, she continued to live their vision, setting up a model smallholding firstly near the family farm in Wales (where I still live), and then later back in Australia, near Lismore and Byron Bay in New South Wales. She was not afraid to try her hand at any job – she grew most of the food, reared animals, sheared sheep, spun the wool, made clothes, made butter, cheese and yoghurt, and preserved food, as well as building her own house.
My parents remained friends and worked together on many books. Sally’s black and white illustrations, often depicting rural and farming scenes, were perfect for John’s books and were also widely used by other authors.
Her pottery was highly collectable. After a visit in 2004, she suffered a debilitating stroke and lived with me and my family for her last 20 years.
She is survived by her children, Jane, Kate, Dai and me, 10 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.
