Unknown Artist, Dove Cottage

A very early sketch of Dove Cottage, William Wordsworth's home from 1799 to 1808. Although in the sketch, the cottage is called Wordsworth's house, suggesting the title of Dove Cottage wasn't acquired until later. The sketch is fairly detailed, including close ups of the gate and the cottage windows and is surrounded by trees and shrubs which are clearly annotated. The cottage was situated in Town End, a small group of houses on the outskirts of Grasmere. Wordsworth moved out of Dove Cottage in 1808, when the pending birth of his fourth child forced him to move into Allen Bank, Grasmere, a house with much larger accomodation. Wordsworth lived in Grasmere until he moved to Rydal Mount in 1813. The eight and a half years Wordsworth lived in Dove Cottage were important ones. It was while living at Dove Cottage Wordsworth penned the famous poem 'I Wondered Lonely as a Cloud' which is more commonly known as 'Daffodils'. The enclosed seller's notes record that most of the sketches 'seem to have been done on the spot in the Lake District in August 1850 by an accomplished draughtsman, possibly an architect.' Photographed: 21.01.2007 Alex Black