Literary Greats and their Homes

BritEvents has listed the British homes of the literary giants which are sure to kindle the imagination and deepen your understanding of your favourite writers.

By Lucy Middleton
BritEvents.com

To truly see into the minds of the talented writers behind the classics Romeo and Juliet, Pride and Prejudice, Wuthering Heights and Mrs Dalloway, you must visit where they chose to lay their imaginative minds at night.

BritEvents' Lucy Middleton introduces you to the homes of some of Britain's literary geniuses, now open to the general public and dedicated to preserving the memories of these great writers.

Virginia Woolf Monk's House, East Sussex

A modest 18th-Century weather-boarded cottage that was bought by Virginia Woolf.

In the village of Rodmell, East Sussex lies a modest 18th century weather-boarded cottage that was bought by writer Virginia Woolf (see main picture) and her husband Leonard.

During the many years shared at Monk's House, Virginia and her husband entertained fellow renown literary figures including Maynard Keynes, Roger Fry, Lytton Strachey and TS Eliot.

The charming house with a large garden and beautiful views across the river Ouse, which is the river Woolf drowned in when she decided to take her life in 1941.

Monk's House provided inspiration to Woolf throughout her literary career and her final novel in particular Between the Acts references Rodmell countless times.

Monk's House is open to the public from April through to the end of October on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons, more information can be found on the National Trust website.

William Wordsworth Dove Cottage, Lake District

17th century house in Grasmere in the Lake District, home to William Wordsworth.

Dove Cottage is a 17th century building in Grasmere, the Lake District and was the home of William Wordsworth for the period of time in which he wrote his most famous poetry including Ode: Intimations of Immortality, I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud and his autobiography The Prelude.

Wordsworth had fond memories of the Lake District from when he was a child before moving away to study at the University of Cambridge.

After finishing university, Wordsworth travelled Europe for 12 years before he bought Dove Cottage, where he spent over eight years of plain living but high thinking.

The cottage was acquired by the Wordsworth Trust in 1890 and receives approximately 70,000 yearly visitors.

Opening times of Dove Cottage and the Wordsworth Museum and Art Gallery.

Bronte sisters Haworth Parsonage, West Yorkshire

Late 18th century house, home of the Bronte sisters from 1820-1861.

The Haworth Parsonage was built in the late 18th century and the home of the talented Bronte sisters from 1820 1861.

Charlotte Bronte was the eldest of the three sisters who survived into adulthood and is infamous for her novel Jane Eyre, while younger sister Emily is best known for her only novel, Wuthering Heights.

Set in the Yorkshire moors which inspired the sisters, Haworth Parsonage was where the women spent their time reading and coming up with ideas for their work, having been well educated since childhood.

The sisters' works were conjured and penned in the dining room, at a table which remains to this day.

Nowadays, the Haworth Parsonage is a museum dedicated to the Bronte sisters and their amazing, yet short, lives.

Opening times of Bronte Parsonage Museum can be found on the Haworth Village website.

William Shakespeare Stratford Upon Avon, Warwickshire

William Shakespeare's house in the beautiful market town of Stratford upon Avon, home to one of the greatest writers of all time.

The beautiful market town of Stratford Upon Avon gave birth to poet and playwright William Shakespeare in 1564.

Considered to be one of the greatest writers of literature, William Shakespeare lived in Stratford for many years and there a handful houses linked to his life, the most important being Shakespeare's Birthplace and his last home, New Place and Nashs House, both of which are stunning Tudor buildings.

Though Shakespeare spent time in London to pursue his career, he always returned to his true home, Stratford which now welcomes 3 million visitors a year.

Opening times of the museums can be found by clicking their place names above.

Jane Austen's House Chawton, Hampshire

Jane Austen lived the last eight years of her life at Chawton.

Jane Austen, another literary great, was born in Hampshire in 1775 and dreamed of being a writer for decades before her work was finally recognised.

In the house at Chawton, Jane Austen lived the last eight years of her life before sadly dying of Addison's Disease, aged just 42 years old.

During her time in Chawton she revised Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility.

Works entirely written in the house included Mansfield Park, Emma and Persuasion and Jane Austen fans are welcome to visit the house-turned-museum to gain a deeper insight into this fantastic literary mind.

Opening times and admission prices can be found on the Jane Austen's House Museum website. 

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