This marvellously evocative photo of William Wordsworth's writing hut at Rydal Mount was taken by friend of Shedworking photographer and writer Chris Routledge. Of equally high calibre is this guest post written exclusively for us by Kira Welland a PhD student at the University of Cumbria in Ambleside whose research (‘The spatial contexts of Rydal Mount and how these influence the influence the writings of Mary, Dorothy, and Dora Wordsworth’), explores the literary heritage and architectural history of Rydal Mount:
At the head of the Rydal Mount gardens sits a poet’s throne. This is the Summer House, a garden hut that holds gravitas far beyond its humble size. It was here that William Wordsworth (1770-1850) would compose his poetry. However, this quaint writing hut not only provided the location for poesy; it was also a source of inspiration.
Wordsworth lived at Rydal Mount from 1813 until his death in 1850, and he was responsible for defining the character of its gardens. The terraces, built to mimic walking in the fells, were largely landscaped by Wordsworth during the 1820s.
Connecting two of these terraces, it is likely Wordsworth built the Summer House around the same time. Certainly by 1826, Wordsworth wrote a poem on the prospect of being evicted from Rydal Mount, and intended to inscribe it on the door of the Summer House:
The Massy Ways, carried across these heights
By Roman perseverance, are destroyed, -
Or hidden underground, like sleeping worms.
How then to hope that Time will spare
This humble walk? Yet on the mountain’s side
A Poet’s hand first shaped it; and the steps
Of that same Bard – repeated to and fro
At morn, at noon, and under moonlight skies
Through the vicissitudes of many a year -
Forbade the weeds to creep o’er its grey line.
William Wordsworth, ‘The Massy Ways, carried across these heights’, lines 1-10.As the current structure differs slightly from Wordsworth’s day, the Summer House is now open on both sides to allow direct access from one terrace to another. Constructed from slate and previously lined with pinecones, it appears as an organic feature of the fellside, reflecting Wordsworth’s Romantic philosophy. With the doorways framing picturesque views towards Wansfell and Loughrigg, the little hut has big prospects, and it is easy to see how one could be enraptured in poesy from such a place.
The Summer House inspired compositions beyond those of its maker. Maria Jane Jewsbury (1800-1833) first visited Rydal Mount in 1825, and was captivated by the house and grounds. The resulting work ‘A Poet’s Home’ was published in The Literary Magnet in 1826, and featured the following lines referring to the Summer House:
Winding walk, and sheltered nook,
For student grave, and graver book;
Or a bird-like bower, perchance,
Fit for maiden and romance.
Maria Jane Jewsbury, ‘A Poet’s Home’, lines 9-12.Jewsbury expresses the versatility of the Summer House, both in its purpose for Wordsworth’s philosophical ponderings, but also as a sanctuary. The ‘sheltered nook’ evokes a familial intimacy fitting for the small hut, particularly when paired with ideas of youth and romance in the following lines. Located at the highest point in the grounds yet shielded by magnificent trees, it is a paradoxical place: small, but grand; sheltered, but imposing; solemn, but whimsical.
Two hundred years later, the Summer House continues its contradictory existence. It encapsulates the sublimity of the Lake District’s landscape, simultaneously lofty and snug. The Summer House endures as a venue and source for creativity, captured in Chris Routledge’s recent photograph. To use Wordsworth’s own words, this hut prevails for “... those pure Minds that reverence the Muse”, and will hopefully continue to do so for generations to come.
For the past few years, Kira has worked as Rydal Mount’s House Guide and Administrator, and now works for the Wordsworth Conference Foundation. She is in the process of creating her own blog recording her research journey, and is also active on Instagram, Bluesky, and
LinkedIn.
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