02/05/2026
It was a pleasure to host these two ladies on a UK tour from Canada. After chatting I learned that Elle, on the right is the great niece of Jesse Chambers and this is a piece she kindly wrote for me about Jesse.
Jesse Wood (nee Chambers) 1887-1944
Jesse Chambers and DH Lawrence met as teenagers at Jesse’s family farm (Haggs Farm) where Lawrence’s poor health would benefit from the fresh air of the countryside. The significance of Jesse’s role in shaping and supporting Lawrence’s development as a writer is seldom recognized. Although deeply connected as intellectual soul mates, differences in temperament and worldview eventually strained their relationship. Lawrence eventually left to pursue further education, teaching, world travel and his eventual relationship with Frieda.
The portrayal of Jesse as Miriam in Sons and Lovers presents the author’s version of his relationship with Jesse Chambers. In Jesse’s book, A Personal Record, we are given her
account of the role she played in Lawrence’s early life. Thus, we can better understand the seminal influence Jesse had in the development of DH Lawrence’s writing. Later in his life DH is
quoted as saying “ My heart was at Haggs”.
After Lawrence fled the close and intimate relationship with Jesse, she eventually married Jack Wood. They did not have any children.
Jesse was a teacher, a writer, a painter and a social activist. She spent time in Spain supporting the resistance against Franco. She also travelled to Persia and Russia.
You can learn more about Jesse Chambers at the DH Lawrence Birthplace Museum in Eastwood UK.
