Editing Robert Hawker (poet) (section)

===Ritual innovation, eccentricity; hut and vicarage===
[[File:Morwenstow Old Vicarage - geograph.org.uk - 42957.jpg|thumb|Morwenstow Vicarage]]
The [[Harvest festival|Harvest Festival]] that we know today was introduced in the parish of Morwenstow in 1843 by Hawker. He invited his parishioners to a Harvest service as he wanted to give thanks to God for providing such plenty. This service took place on 1 October and bread made from the first cut of corn was taken at [[Eucharist|communion]].

"Parson Hawker", as he was known to his parishioners, was something of an eccentric, both in his clothes and his habits. He loved bright colours and it seems the only black things he wore were his socks. He built a small hut, that became known as [[Hawker's Hut]], from driftwood on the cliffs overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. He spent many hours there writing his poems and letters. This driftwood hut is now the smallest property in the [[National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty|National Trust]] portfolio. Many of the more fantastic stories told about Hawker are based on an unreliable biography published by the Reverend [[Sabine Baring-Gould]] in 1876, only a few months after Hawker's death. Other eccentricities attributed to him include dressing up as a [[mermaid]] and [[excommunication|excommunicating]] his cat for mousing on Sundays. He dressed in a claret-coloured coat, blue fisherman's jersey, long sea boots, a pink brimless hat and a [[poncho]] made from a yellow horse blanket, which he claimed was the ancient habit of St [[Padarn]]. He talked to birds, invited his nine cats into the church and kept a pig as a pet.<ref>Fergus Butler-Gallie, "The Reverend Robert Hawker, Vicar of Morwenstow (1803–75" in ''A Field Guide to the English Clergy'' (London: Oneworld Publications, 2018), pp. 3–6</ref>

He built himself a remarkable vicarage, with chimneys modelled on the towers of the churches in his life: Tamerton, where he had been curate; Morwenstow and Welcombe; plus that of [[Magdalen College, Oxford]]. The old kitchen chimney is a replica of Hawker's mother's tomb.

Of his interesting life, Hawker himself wrote: "What a life mine would be if it were all written and published in a book."<ref>{{cite book|last1=Brendon|first1=Piers|title=Hawker of Morwenstow: portrait of a Victorian eccentric|date=2002|publisher=Pimlico|location=London [u.a.]|isbn=9780712667722}}</ref>

The American poet [[Joyce Kilmer]] described him as "a coast life-guard in a cassock" and was to some extent influenced by Hawker's poetry.<ref>Hillis, John. ''Joyce Kilmer: A Bio-Bibliography''. Master of Science (Library Science) thesis. Catholic University of America, Washington, DC; 1962; p. 19</ref>