Historic Writers’ Houses You Can Visit in England

The Brontë family moved to the Parsonage in Haworth, a house located on the edge of the bleak Yorkshire Moors, in 1820. They would remain there until their deaths. Charlotte, Emily and Anne, the three daughters of the Parson Patrick Brontë, himself a published novelist, all wrote poetry and novels. Several of their works, such as Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, are considered to be amongst the greatest in English literature. The house is now a museum containing a wide range of Brontë artefacts and manuscripts.

The historian and essayist Thomas Carlyle was one of the most influential intellectuals of Victorian Britain. He moved into this Queen Anne era four-storey terrace house in Chelsea with his wife Jane in 1834. He lived here until his death in 1881. Among those who visited him were other literary luminaries such as Charles Dickens, George Eliot and Alfred Lord Tennyson. Soon after his death, the house was turned into a writer’s house museum, one of the first in Britain. The house is decorated with photographs, paintings and furniture that belonged to the Carlyles.

One of the best-known authors of the Victorian era, Charles Dickens still has a committed fan following across the world. He lived at this Georgian terraced house in London between 1837 and 1839, during which time he wrote Oliver Twist, The Pickwick Papers and Nicholas Nickelby. Since 1925 it has been open to the public and contains over 10,000 important manuscripts, rare editions, personal items and assorted artefacts. It holds regular exhibitions, events and tours, including a Housemaids’ Tour where you can see life below stairs.

Churchill lived at Chartwell from 1922 to 1965. Originally built in Tudor times the house has been extended and renovated extensively since. It is set in magnificent gardens in the Weald of Kent. Although given to the National Trust in 1946, Churchill and his family continued to live there until his death in 1965. A tour of the house takes in many of the rooms in which he worked and raised his family, including his study, where he wrote his most successful books, and art studio. It retains a homely feel with personal photographs and many of his official gifts, all the while presenting details about his life and premiership.

T.E Lawrence, often better known as Lawrence of Arabia, bought Clouds Hill after his adventures in the Middle East, at a time when he was looking for an escape from his unwanted fame. A tiny cottage of just four rooms, here he lived a life of material austerity, focusing on his writing, conversation and music. Set in wild heathland and next to the road on which he died, the house is now owned by the National Trust and open to visitors over the warmer months. An unusual property that gives a glimpse into the mind of this complex man.

This little cottage, now owned by the National Trust, was where the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge and his family lived for just three years from 1796; however it was in those three years that he produced some of his finest works, among them Kubla Khan and The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Coleridge would walk in the countryside for inspiration, and his poetry marked the start of the Romantic literary movement in Britain. It was in this cottage that his addiction to laudanum developed, and he was never able to repeat his early successes.

Described by the poet William Wordsworth as “the loveliest spot that man hath ever found,” he and his sister moved into Dove Cottage in 1799, remaining there until 1808. Along with its whitewashed walls and slate floors, the small house today contains many of Wordsworth’s personal items, including the couch he refers to in one of his most famous poems, “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud.” A semi-wild cottage garden adds to the ambience of this attractive Lake District destination, one which offers a fascinating insight into one of England’s most famous poets.

Located on the rural edges of Greater London, Down House was the home of world-renowned scientist Charles Darwin, and it was here that he wrote The Origin of Species, a seminal work in the study of evolution. The house contains many of Darwin’s personal possessions, some from his time on HMS Beagle. His study has been faithfully recreated and the extensive gardens include the Sandwalk where he would stroll up and down to allow himself thinking time. Owned by English Heritage, the site is open all year round.

Set on the River Dart estuary, Agatha Christie’s Georgian style holiday home has a huge garden and a wealth of her personal items. Among the objects on display are archaeological artefacts recovered by her second husband, the archaeologist Max Mallowan. Greenway’s boat house features in some of her novels and was also used in some of the popular televised adaptations of her works. With regular events and exhibitions, a cafe and stunning gardens, Greenway makes for a fascinating glimpse into the life of a novelist known across the world as the Queen of Crime.

In the heart of rural Dorset is this small traditional cob and thatch cottage, built in 1800 by Thomas Hardy’s great-grandfather. Hardy was born and raised here, writing many of his early poems and novels at a small desk overlooking the garden. Now owned by the National Trust, the cottage is furnished in Victorian style and gives a revealing glimpse into Hardy’s love for nature and the outdoors, a world that helped inspire the rural Wessex of his novels. Visitors can also explore the nearby woodland trails and relax at the Under the Greenwood Tree Café.

This 17th century farmhouse was bought by Beatrix Potter after the success of her first book, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, and provided the inspiration for the many books that followed. Potter left the house and her vast, eclectic collection of objects to the National Trust on her death in 1943. The Trust now care for Hill Top as a writer’s house museum and manage the surrounding landscape – including the most famous vegetable patch in the world! There are regular events and exhibitions. Be aware that the house can get very busy in peak season.

Jane Austen is perhaps the most famous English language novelist of her generation, a writer whose works are still enjoyed internationally. Jane Austen’s House in Chawton was her home during the last eight years of her life and is the place where she wrote all six of her novels, including Pride and Prejudice. The rooms are decorated with period furnishings to better convey their appearance during Austen’s day. While in Chawton, Austen fans can also visit the novelist’s grave as well as Chawton House, the home of her brother.

The poet John Keats lived as a lodger in part of this Hampstead house between 1818 and 1820 before his worsening tuberculosis pushed him to relocate to the warmer climes of Rome. It was here that he wrote many of his best works, including Ode to a Nightingale and La Belle Dame Sans Merci. It was also in Hampstead that he met his fiancée and muse, Fanny Brawne, who lived next door. Ultimately, he died abroad before they could be married. The house is now run as a museum and literary centre, with regular events and activities.

Originally built as a Tudor-era bishop’s palace, Knole House passed into the ownership of the Sackville family in the 17th century, with members of that family still living here to this day. Perhaps Knole’s most famous resident was the writer Vita Sackville-West, who was born here in 1892 and used it as the inspiration for her most famous novel, The Edwardians. One of the National Trust’s largest properties, Knole House spreads over an area of just under four acres in size, surrounded by an additional thousand acres of land.

Located only a few miles away from the cottage where he was born, Max Gate was the home that the writer Thomas Hardy created for himself after establishing his career as a successful author. Hardy designed the grand Victorian villa and lived there with his first and then his second wife until his death in 1928. The house is now owned by the National Trust, contains some of his personal belongings, and boasts interiors that have been recreated as faithfully as possible. An ideal attraction for anyone seeking greater insight into Hardy’s life and work.

During the Middle Ages, Newstead Abbey was a priory of Augustinian canons, but like other monastic centres it fell to King Henry VIII’s Dissolution of the Monasteries. While the abbey was sold off and transformed into a luxury private home, the west front of the building preserves the older medieval façade. Between 1808 and 1814, Newstead Abbey was the residence of Lord Byron, the famous Romantic poet, and today’s visitors can still find many objects associated with him inside its walls. There are also attractive grounds surrounding the building itself.

Shakespeare needs no introduction. The famous playwright was born at this half-timbered, 16th-century house in 1564, remaining here throughout his early life, including for the first five years of his marriage to Anne Hathaway. He later inherited the property on his father’s death and leased it to an inn. The Shakespeare Trust bought the house in the 19th century and established it as the Shakespeare’s Birthplace heritage attraction. It is now one of five properties open in Stratford-upon-Avon that are associated with the life and times of the Bard.

This magnificent Gothic Revival palace was home to Horace Walpole, the author of the world’s first Gothic novel, The Castle of Otranto. The novel was actually printed in the grounds of Strawberry Hill, on the world’s first private printing press. The son of Britain’s inaugural Prime Minister, Walpole spent three years on a Grand Tour of Europe from 1739 to 1741. Many of the objects he brought home are now displayed at the house, along with a bronze bust of the Roman emperor Caligula. With extensive grounds, regular events and guided tours, this palace is a truly unique place to visit.

One of Britain’s most famous poets, William Wordsworth was born at this Georgian townhouse in Cockermouth in 1770. He lived here for much of his first 10 years, with the house now furnished to reflect the period in which Wordsworth was resident. The garden is also an important part of the visitor attraction, a space where Wordsworth perhaps first developed the love of nature that fed into his Romantic poetry. The National Trust has managed the property since 1938, having helped to save it from being demolished for a bus station.