Wordsworth House The Lake District

The poet William Wordsworth was born on 7 April 1770 at this handsome Georgian house at the end of Main St. Built around 1745, the house has been meticulously restored based on accounts from the Wordsworth archive: the kitchen, drawing room, study and bedrooms all look much as they would have to a young William. Costumed guides wander around the house for added period authenticity. Outside, the walled kitchen garden was mentioned in Wordsworth's autobiographical epic The Prelude. The house also has some interesting hands-on experiences: you can try using a quill pen in the former clerk's office, play some chords on a harpsichord and (if the maid is in residence on the day you visit) watch meals being prepared over the kitchen's blazing fire. Exhibitions document the Wordsworth family's story and William's poetic legacy.