Fiennes, Celia (1662–1741)

English writer. She recorded vivid descriptions of her extensive journeys throughout England and Scotland, mostly between 1685 and 1703. Travelling on horseback and by coach, staying at inns or with relatives, she commented on towns, roads, inns, religious practices, and particularly on local trade and industry. Her diaries, Through England on a Side Saddle in the time of William and Mary, were first published in 1888.

Fiennes was born at Newton Toney, near Salisbury, into a Puritan, anti-monarchist family. Her travels were supposedly undertaken for her health, but she admitted that they were inspired by curiosity. During her ‘Great Journey’ of 1698 she travelled over 1,600 km/1,000 miles.