‘This treasure belongs to the nation': Miriam Margolyes and Brian Cox join calls to save Wordsworth's home
Actors Brian Cox, Miriam Margolyes and Tom Conti as well as the children's laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce are among those calling for the home of William Wordsworth to be saved as a site of literary heritage.
The Romantic poet lived at Rydal Mount in the Lake District from 1813 to his death in 1850. The property has five acres of gardens which were designed by Wordsworth.
He had rented the house, but in the late 1960s it was bought by his descendants, and has since been open to the public for most of the year. However, after the Covid pandemic, visitor numbers dropped sharply and the house was put on the market for offers over £2.5m.
Wordsworth's great great great great granddaughter, Charlotte Wontner, is now leading a campaign to encourage financial backers to step in and help preserve the house and gardens so that they can be kept open for the public.
'It's too often we are losing our incredible links with the past and this is one major link to the past that we cannot lose', said Succession actor Cox.
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'This forthcoming sale of Rydal Mount is a mistake', said Margolyes. 'It can be stopped. This treasure belongs to the nation – as much as it does William Wordsworth.'
Wontner, whose grandmother bought Rydal Mount in 1969, described it as a 'living museum'. The gardens 'are where Wordsworth wrote many of his poems and when people get there, there is this wonderful sense of being closer to the poetry.'
She said that Wordsworth's poetry is becoming increasingly important because of his appreciation for nature and the environment.
Her cousin, Christopher, who is selling the house, is supportive of the campaign, she said. 'We all have the same goal which is to find a way of keeping the house open to people. There may be other relatives who feel the same way and I hope they will get in touch.'
The house has 'always been referred to, I think, as a place of solace, and that is an important thing nowadays. A place to just have a break from the everyday craziness.'
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