Dove Cottage was the home of William Wordsworth from 1799 to 1808, the years of his major works as a poet. It was probably built in the 17th century, as a small hotel (hostelry) In those days public houses were painted white as they could be noticed from afar. Now when we look at the buildings we think it is to make them look quaint!
It is situated just at the edge of Grasmere as you head towards Ambleside. It is on the left turning at the roundabout on the main road.
This is the first room Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy entered on arriving at Dove Cottage on 2oth December 1799. Today we would call this the parlour. The room has been kept as it was in Wordsworth's day. This includesa window seat, slate floor and walls covered with dark-stained pannelling. ( The first time I went for a tour around
Dove Cottage we were told this dark pannelling was made with blood. Now it is not mentioned at all ) When the cottage served as a pub, this was probably the main drinking room. During Wordsworth's tenancy it was the kitchen-parlour, and was used for the lighter work of the house. Here the main meal was taken, and some cooking was probably done.
Downstairs Bedroom
The small room opening out of the houseplace, likewise panelled and stonefloored, always served as a bedroom. The Wordsworths put down matting, and the room was Dorothy's. It was probably here that she wrote much of her Grasmere Journal. Then, in the summer of 1802, the room became Wordsworth's. In October 1802 Wordsworth married Mary Hutchinson, and their three eldest children, John, Dora and Thomas, were born in this room.
Kitchen
Adjoining the downstairs bedroom is the kitchen, where the cooking, washing, and rougher work of the house would have been done. The Wordsworths' diet was simple, they are remembered for having three meals a day, two of which were porridge! The present fire is a Victorian range, and is the only grate in the cottage which does not date back to the Wordsworths' days. There is also some Victorian lead plumbing.
Buttery (Larder)
Opening out of the kitchen is a good larder, with the characteristic stone slab of the district to keep the food fresh. This was the buttery when the cottage served as a pub. There is a small spring under the slate floor, and this keeps the larder cool in the summer and frost-free in winter.
The study, in Wordsworth's day had an uninterrupted view over the meadows to the lake. Here the family had breakfast, drank tea and entertained friends. More than any other, this room is associated with the writing of poetry. Wordsworth's first stage of composition might be out of doors, in his head, walking up and down a woodland path, but it was usually in this room that the words were put to paper, Wordsworth, Dorothy and sometimes Mary writing.
Next to the sitting room is a bedroom used first by William, and later by Dorothy and others. It must have been from this room that Dorothy watched the swallows building, and rebuilding, their nest in June 1802: 'It is now 8 o'clock, I will go and see if my swallows are in their nest. Yes! there they are side by side, both looking down into the garden. I have been out on purpose to see their faces.'
Guest Room
Looking east, with a delightful view of the garden, is a room described by Dorothy in 1800 as 'a sort of lumber room', and in 1805 as 'the pantry, lumber room, etc'. Its main use seems to have been as a pantry. A bed must have been put in in case of any guests arriving.
Children's Room
There is a small room opening out of the 'lumber room', and extending over the larder. Called by Dorothy the 'outjutting', the Wordshworth's made it bigger and used it as a bedroom, and in 1800 papered it with newspapers and gave it a new window. In 1805 the roof of the Newspaper Room was raised and a ceiling was fitted. In the 1970s the room was re-papered with newspapers dating from the Wordsworths' time. These are really interesting to see and you do get a chance to read them on the tour.
The garden is inspiring! If it hadnt been for the fact that Wordsworth wrote before he arrived in Dove Cottage I think we would put the work down to this house and its location!
Some seventy thousand visitors go to see the cottage and its gardens every year, but for all this, it remains very much as it was when Wordsworth was living there with his sister Dorothy and wife Mary, when Coleridge was a frequent visitor, and also when Thomas De Quincey moved in as a successor to Wordsworth.
If you are interested in Wordsworth or any of the Lakeland Poets this is a lovely house to visit as they I think they all played their part in the history of it.
Admission Prices (2007)
Adult ticket £6.50 Child ticket £4.10
Discounted tickets are available for families, students and those who collect a reciprocal discount voucher from either Rydal Mount and Gardens or Wordsworth House, Cockermouth. Opening Times: open every day, 9.30am - 5.30pm. Last admission is 5pm. We are closed 24, 25 and 26 December and 8th January - 4th February 2007 for essential conservation work Half term opening: Saturday 26th May - Sunday 3rd June, 10am - 5pm (closed 1-2pm).
If you cant manage to visit i hope ihave given you a little insight into what you are missing.
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