While in England’s Lake District we
learned about several English authors who once lived in the area. It was a very
warm, very humid day when we took off to learn more about William Wordsworth.
Rydal Mount sits on a hilltop among 4 ½
acres, so it was a hike up a pretty steep cobblestone street. As one can
imagine the view was quite beautiful. We learned William Wordsworth lived in
several homes before moving to Rydal Mount in 1813 at the age of 43,. He did
not own this home because a Mr. Fleming would not sell. However, it was his
home for 37 years and his rent of only 35 pounds a year never changed.
Few people realize Wordsworth was quite a
landscape gardener and actually landscaped many homes in the area, and the
grounds at Rydal Mount have remained pretty much as he designed them. The
landscaping blended beautifully with the natural landscape of the surrounding
fells. The original two story house, built in 1574, was added on to in 1750.
Having lost two children at their previous home, Wordsworth and his wife, Mary
Hutchinson, were ready for a change of scenery when they
moved to this lovely property. Three other children age 10, 9, and 3 also moved
with them. In 1969 a great granddaughter was able to purchase Rydal Mount, and
it now remains a family home with members of the family staying there periodically.
Wordsworth was very close to his sister,
Dorothy. She lived with his family for many years. In those days single women remained with the
family until they married and did not live alone.
William
Wordsworth died at Rydal Mount in 1850.
After touring the home and spending some
time among the lovely landscaping we headed down hill to Dove Cottage. Again we
picked up a local docent who told us, “In 1799 Wordsworth lived at Dove Cottage
and this is where he brought his bride in 1802. They remained here until 1808
when the family and many visitors simply outgrew the house.”
Dove Cottage, built in 1600, was
originally a pub. The paneling was very dark—to hide the smoke and alcohol
stains. Wordsworth preferred a simple lifestyle. She pointed out that he used a
calling card basket on the entry table instead of the traditional silver tray.
The
floors of large slate blocks showed the wear of centuries of walking. The rooms
of the cottage were very small. In the kitchen we were shown candle molds and
told, “Houses used to be taxed on the number of windows they contained with
seven windows being tax free. You can imagine that most rooms were pretty dark.
Candles were made by melting either sheep or pig fat. Sometimes the candles
were dipped, but that was a very slow, time consuming process, so more often
molds were used where five candles could be made at one time by simply pouring
the melted fat into the mold. It was a common practice to run a reed through a
candle horizontally and then light both ends of the reed. This gave off the
light of three candles and that is how the expression burning your candle at both ends originated.” I love fun expression and
origins---England is full of them.
At
age 73 Wordsworth was appointed poet laureate to Queen Victoria. For this honor
he received 60 guineas a year and a case of wine at Christmas.
Owned
by the Wordsworth Trust, Dove Cottage has been preserved and is open to the
public.
