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The
National Trust
Wordsworth
Trust
William Wordsworth's
birthplace
Wordsworth House, Main Street, Cockermouth CA13 9RX.
Tel: 01900 824805. now owned by the National
Trust
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| FACTS |
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Dove Cottage used to be a pub
called the 'Dove and Olive'.
Wordsworth said that if he
hadn't been a poet he may have been a landscape gardener.
Wordsworth's favourite flower
was not the Daffodil but the Celandine!
Wordsworth's legs were not
considered 'ornamental' by female connoisseurs!
Wordsworth was appointed Poet
Laureate by Queen Victoria in 1843.
He was Poet Laureate for 7
years, until . He is the only Poet Laureate in history who
has failed to write a single official poem for the monarch.
Wordsworth studied at St John’s
College, Cambridge, where he read Mathematics but not very
successfully!
Pepper, the Wordsworth’s
family dog during their time at Dove Cottage, was given to
them by Sir Walter Scott. The great Scottish novelist was
an amateur breeder and used to name his dogs according to
their furs. The dogs were usually called Ginger, Pepper or
Mustard!
Wordsworth championed the
idea of the Lake District being preserved ‘as a sort
of national property’ over 100 years before the National
Park was established.
Wordsworth was a fanatical
campaigner against the railways being brought into the Lake
District. He was instrumental in stopping the line being continued
from Windermere through to Keswick
Wordsworth had an illegitimate
daughter, Caroline. Caroline was born after his youthful affair
with a French lady, Annette Vallon, during the time that Wordsworth
spent in France during the Revolution
In 1813 he was appointed Stamp
Distributor (revenue collector) for Westmorland - which meant
he had a guaranteed income of around £400 per year.
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The house hasn't changed much since
Wordsworth's day and still has its original slate floors downstairs.
Born in Cockermouth, the son of an
attorney; William attended the infants' school in Penrith with Mary
Hutchinson, his future wife. From 1779 to 1787, he attended Hawkshead
Grammar School.
Dove Cottage was built in the early
part of the 17th century as a small inn. The inn closed in 1793.
In 1799 Wordsworth and his sister
Dorothy moved in.
In 1802 William married Mary Hutchinson,
his financial position having been improved by the repayment of
a debt on the death of Lord Lonsdale.
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| Daffodils made famous
in Wordsworth's poem of the same name. |
Their three oldest children were
born at Dove Cottage
- John in 1803
- Dora in 1804
- Thomas in 1806
They lived in the house until May
1808.
The poet and most of his family are
buried in Grasmere churchyard, along with Coleridge's son, Hartley.
Next to the churchyard gate is the
famous gingerbread shop. It was built in 1660 as a schoolhouse.
The little Wordsworths learned their multiplication tables here.
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| The Wordsworth graves
in Grasmere church |
By Road
Dove Cottage and the Wordsworth Museum are located south of
Grasmere village, on the main A591 Kendal-Keswick road.
The nearest train station is Windermere (which is on the bus route).
By Bus
There is an hourly bus service (no. 555) throughout the year.
In summer, an open-top bus (no. W1) runs from Windermere to Grasmere
every 20 minutes.
Contact details and address
Grasmere, Cumbria LA22 9SH
Telephone. 015394 35544
Fax: +44 (0)15394 3574
E-mail: enquiries@wordsworth.org.uk
Tell us about your visit and send
your digital photos of Dove Cottage or other Cumbrian attractions.
E-mail cumbria@bbc.co.uk
so we can include them for others to enjoy.
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