THE church which is the last resting place of Frankenstein author Mary Shelley is to celebrate her legacy ahead of the novel’s 200th anniversary.

The author is buried in St Peter’s, in Bournemouth town centre, along with the heart of her husband, the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley.

Mary’s parents, the radical philosopher William Godwin and early feminist Mary Wollstonecraft, share the same tomb.

A meeting next week will hear how the town is planning a Shelley Frankenstein festival, with commemorations starting in November 2016.

Town centre rector the Rev Ian Terry said: “In 2018, it will be 200 years since Frankenstein was published and we’re planning to celebrate the literary history but also to link it into the present.

“We’ve realised we have in a sense been sitting next to a great treasure.

“We’ve got the grave of Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein, of her husband the word-renowned poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, her mother Mary Wollstonecraft – the first, in English, published feminist writer – and her father, also a well-known philosopher.

“What have done about it? Very little. We’re going to change all that.”

He said the council was working with a range of partners, with former mayor Rod Cooper chairing a committee that involved representatives from Bournemouth University, Arts University Bournemouth, Bournemouth Borough Council and Boscombe’s Shelley Manor.

“Next year, it is the 200th anniversary of the marriage of Mary and Percy and so over the first weekend of that November, we’re going to focus on marriage,” said Dr Terry.

“In St Peter’s, we shall invite back to renew their marriage vows and have a bit of a party all those who have been married in St Peter’s. We’re planning a gathering with all faith representatives, because all faiths value marriage.”

In 2017, the church will host a “world premiere for Bournemouth”, when the Arts University Bournemouth presents Percy Bysshe Shelley’s play Prometheus Unbound, said Dr Terry.

“There’s going to be a Frankenstein film festival and then in 2018, we’re hoping that internationally we can attract into Bournemouth all those who want to mark the 200th anniversary of the publication of Frankenstein.”

Any interested residents or groups are invited to St Peter’s on Thursday, September 10, at 7.30pm, with refreshments from 7pm, to hear about the plans and offer suggestions. Ideas can also be sent to ianterry@live.co.uk