Very interesting Mr V.

The dates I gave for Mary (1852-1882) were incorrect - they should have been 1852-1888 (entry here http://www.haverford.edu/library/special/aids/copeevans/page2.php if anyone's interested). moss has also written at length about the Cope family here - http://northstoke.blogspot.com/2010/04/cope-family.html

So Mary was 33 when she visited Avebury, 34 when her poem was written and 36 when she died? With references in her poem to, "...pinks and stocks the beds are gay... With scent of woodbine and of rose. Above the borders trim." looks like she was here in the summer (for how long in Avebury though?).

There's an online (1858) edition of The Experience of Life here if anyone's interested - http://www.archive.org/details/experiencelife04sewegoog (haven't had time to check if it contains the 'Avebury' bit though).