1
00:00:09,029 --> 00:00:11,329
JAMES GRASBY: Welcome to the
National Trust podcast.

2
00:00:15,130 --> 00:00:18,229
I'm James Grasby and I'm a
curator with the National Trust

3
00:00:18,239 --> 00:00:21,030
with a portfolio of houses in
Herefordshire and

4
00:00:21,040 --> 00:00:21,559
Worcestershire.

5
00:00:21,829 --> 00:00:24,389
And the Daily life of a curator
is looking after things as

6
00:00:24,399 --> 00:00:27,000
diverse as library ladders and
portraits.

7
00:00:27,139 --> 00:00:30,290
These places are knowledgeable
witnesses if you like to things

8
00:00:30,299 --> 00:00:33,389
that have been seen and heard by
them and in this group of

9
00:00:33,400 --> 00:00:36,770
podcasts, we'll be delving into
the stories, plays books and

10
00:00:36,779 --> 00:00:39,950
characters that make each of
these places so special.

11
00:00:40,419 --> 00:00:43,790
So join me on this journey and
immerse yourself in the wonders

12
00:00:43,799 --> 00:00:53,619
of the National Trust. "

13
00:00:53,619 --> 00:00:56,869
PETER COLQUITT: I wandered
lonely as a cloud that floats on

14
00:00:56,880 --> 00:01:01,729
high or vales and hills. When
all at once, I saw a crowd, a

15
00:01:01,740 --> 00:01:06,830
host of golden Daffodils beside
the lake beneath the trees,

16
00:01:06,839 --> 00:01:12,639
fluttering and dancing in the
breeze."

17
00:01:12,639 --> 00:01:14,680
JAMES GRASBY: That was the
opening verse of one of the

18
00:01:14,690 --> 00:01:18,089
nation's favorite poems. I
wandered lonely as a cloud,

19
00:01:18,099 --> 00:01:22,230
written by William Wordsworth
and read by Peter Colquitt, a

20
00:01:22,239 --> 00:01:26,000
volunteer tour guide with the
National Trust. The poem

21
00:01:26,010 --> 00:01:29,029
describes a gorgeous scene in
the Lake District where I am

22
00:01:29,040 --> 00:01:29,440
now.

23
00:01:35,040 --> 00:01:38,059
I've just come through the
streets of Grasmere, a small

24
00:01:38,069 --> 00:01:40,800
Cumbrian Town where Wordsworth
lived and wrote.

25
00:01:41,199 --> 00:01:44,919
Wordsworth described the place
as the loveliest spot that man

26
00:01:44,930 --> 00:01:49,849
hath ever found. Wordsworth
lived in a number of houses in

27
00:01:49,860 --> 00:01:51,040
the Cumbria area.

28
00:01:51,360 --> 00:01:54,639
But in this episode, we'll be
exploring the two now managed by

29
00:01:54,650 --> 00:01:58,480
the National Trust Wordsworth
House where he grew up and Allan

30
00:01:58,489 --> 00:02:00,919
Bank where he lived with family
and friends.

31
00:02:01,989 --> 00:02:05,650
But before we start exploring,
I'm meeting Jeff Cowton. I'm

32
00:02:05,660 --> 00:02:08,690
hoping to learn a bit more about
Wordsworth's life and writing.

33
00:02:10,600 --> 00:02:15,070
JEFF COWTON: Wordsworth living
to be 80, about 70 of those 80

34
00:02:15,080 --> 00:02:17,820
years, he would think of the
Lake District as his home.

35
00:02:18,789 --> 00:02:23,330
And from the very early days of
being a child in Cockermouth

36
00:02:23,339 --> 00:02:26,820
where he tells us later that the
sound of the River Derwent was

37
00:02:26,830 --> 00:02:29,039
one of his earliest natural
influences.

38
00:02:29,050 --> 00:02:31,679
He tells us later, these were
the great influences on his

39
00:02:31,690 --> 00:02:34,429
life. Nature was his teacher and
it was in the Lake District that

40
00:02:34,440 --> 00:02:39,410
these early formative
experiences took place. "

41
00:02:39,410 --> 00:02:43,300
PETER COLQUITT: Fair seed time
had my soul and I grew up

42
00:02:43,309 --> 00:02:48,070
fostered alike by beauty and by
fear much favoured in my

43
00:02:48,080 --> 00:02:53,919
birthplace."

44
00:02:53,919 --> 00:02:56,839
JEFF COWTON: He thought that the
world of nature was the great

45
00:02:56,850 --> 00:03:02,130
natural order of things "

46
00:03:02,130 --> 00:03:05,759
PETER COLQUITT: From nature doth
emotion come and moods of

47
00:03:05,770 --> 00:03:15,020
calmness equally are nature's
gift. This is her glory."

48
00:03:15,020 --> 00:03:18,419
JEFF COWTON: He was incredibly
popular, unimaginably popular to

49
00:03:18,440 --> 00:03:19,160
us now.

50
00:03:19,160 --> 00:03:22,529
People would come to the house,
they would call to meet him,

51
00:03:22,539 --> 00:03:25,380
they would ask for a tour of the
garden. He appeared in the guide

52
00:03:25,389 --> 00:03:28,330
books, you know, suggesting,
well, you might like to knock

53
00:03:28,339 --> 00:03:31,000
and meet Mr Wordsworth and he
might show you around. So he was

54
00:03:31,009 --> 00:03:32,720
very, very much a pop star.

55
00:03:39,039 --> 00:03:41,509
JAMES GRASBY: At the peak of
Wordsworth's creative career. He

56
00:03:41,520 --> 00:03:44,190
was living in the small and
picturesque cottage known as

57
00:03:44,199 --> 00:03:45,039
Dove Cottage.

58
00:03:45,429 --> 00:03:48,339
But his family was growing and
the Wordsworth's were running

59
00:03:48,350 --> 00:03:51,369
out of room to host their
literary guests.

60
00:03:51,369 --> 00:03:54,149
And looking out from the small
window of Dove Cottage,

61
00:03:54,160 --> 00:03:57,500
Wordsworth spied a large white
house being built across the

62
00:03:57,509 --> 00:04:00,399
valley. He actually described
the house as a temple of

63
00:04:00,410 --> 00:04:03,660
abomination, but soon enough, he
would be living there.

64
00:04:11,729 --> 00:04:15,570
I'm very pleased to be getting
closer to the abomination that

65
00:04:15,580 --> 00:04:18,589
Wordsworth described it's really
a very handsome house. I don't

66
00:04:18,600 --> 00:04:20,560
know what Wordsworth was
complaining about!

67
00:04:20,560 --> 00:04:24,399
It's a crisp Georgian Stucco
house on a beautiful mound

68
00:04:24,410 --> 00:04:27,510
looking down over the lake and
we're just coming up to the back

69
00:04:27,519 --> 00:04:30,109
door and thank goodness, I'll
get out of the rain. Let's see

70
00:04:30,119 --> 00:04:30,670
who's here.

71
00:04:34,089 --> 00:04:38,692
Hello, Elaine, how do you do?
I'm James Grasby.

72
00:04:38,692 --> 00:04:40,255
ELAINE TAYLOR: I'm Elaine
Taylor. I'm membership a and

73
00:04:40,255 --> 00:04:42,320
visitor welcome manager for
Allan Bank in Grasmere.

74
00:04:42,739 --> 00:04:46,350
JAMES GRASBY: So who did
Wordsworth move here with?

75
00:04:46,350 --> 00:04:48,359
ELAINE TAYLOR: One of the
reasons to choose Allan Bank,

76
00:04:48,440 --> 00:04:51,470
Their friend Samuel Taylor
Coleridge had insisted on living

77
00:04:51,480 --> 00:04:53,579
with the Wordsworths. Let's put
it that way, and it would have

78
00:04:53,589 --> 00:04:55,500
been impossible at Dove Cottage.

79
00:04:55,799 --> 00:04:58,920
So they moved here. They would
have been William, his wife

80
00:04:58,929 --> 00:05:02,500
Mary. They'd already had three
children by then, John Dora

81
00:05:02,605 --> 00:05:05,424
Thomas by 1806 so Dove Cottage
was full.

82
00:05:05,515 --> 00:05:08,654
They had three servants. They
went on to have Catherine by

83
00:05:08,665 --> 00:05:13,154
September 1808. And Willie
Junior by 1810, they would have

84
00:05:13,165 --> 00:05:16,445
had Coleridge's sons. They came
here at weekends.

85
00:05:16,545 --> 00:05:20,684
Sarah Coleridge came here as
well with her mum, various house

86
00:05:20,695 --> 00:05:23,565
guests from time to time. So in
a house with six bedrooms, there

87
00:05:23,575 --> 00:05:26,515
could be up to 13 to 15 people.
Certainly at weekends.

88
00:05:26,515 --> 00:05:28,937
JAMES GRASBY: My goodness
imagine breakfast time! [

89
00:05:28,937 --> 00:05:32,160
Cross-talk] They lived here for
three years and they were

90
00:05:32,170 --> 00:05:33,769
turbulent times?

91
00:05:34,790 --> 00:05:37,519
ELAINE TAYLOR: Certainly, Yes.
Wordsworth's reputation wasn't

92
00:05:37,529 --> 00:05:40,059
in the ascendant. He'd moved
here to look after and

93
00:05:40,070 --> 00:05:42,579
accommodate his friend Samuel
Taylor Coleridge.

94
00:05:42,709 --> 00:05:45,700
Coleridge was meant to be
working on a weekly magazine

95
00:05:45,709 --> 00:05:48,829
called The Friend. But for the
most part, Coleridge's

96
00:05:48,839 --> 00:05:53,230
increasing addiction to alcohol
and opiates was causing great

97
00:05:53,239 --> 00:05:54,390
problems for the Wordsworths.

98
00:05:54,399 --> 00:05:57,589
He would stay in bed all day. He
wouldn't go out walking in the

99
00:05:57,600 --> 00:06:01,619
sunshine. He would either be a
chatterbox at meal times or say

100
00:06:01,630 --> 00:06:05,320
nothing at all. He was becoming,
you know, really strongly

101
00:06:05,329 --> 00:06:08,029
addicted to opiates on a heroic
scale.

102
00:06:11,049 --> 00:06:14,589
Well, the friendship broke up in
1810, it was never fully sort of

103
00:06:14,600 --> 00:06:15,390
rectified.

104
00:06:16,989 --> 00:06:18,820
JAMES GRASBY: So why did
Wordsworth leave Allan Bank?

105
00:06:19,519 --> 00:06:22,489
ELAINE TAYLOR: By 1811, It was
becoming absolutely impossible

106
00:06:22,500 --> 00:06:25,320
for them to live here. The
fires, the chimneys smoked so

107
00:06:25,329 --> 00:06:27,880
badly. They had chimney doctors
in to try and rectify the

108
00:06:27,890 --> 00:06:31,079
problem. Nothing would work.
Their living conditions were so

109
00:06:31,089 --> 00:06:31,649
poor.

110
00:06:31,660 --> 00:06:35,040
It's very cold, it was very
damp. The circumstances were so

111
00:06:35,049 --> 00:06:37,100
straightened that they had to
move out.

112
00:06:37,100 --> 00:06:41,269
By 1812, unfortunately,
Catherine who'd been born here

113
00:06:41,380 --> 00:06:44,720
and Thomas who is her brother,
three years older, both died.

114
00:06:50,880 --> 00:06:54,640
So Allan Bank is the only house
where all five children were

115
00:06:54,649 --> 00:06:55,179
together.

116
00:07:06,869 --> 00:07:11,459
By 1813, Wordsworth was looking
to move again. I think they

117
00:07:11,470 --> 00:07:14,220
would have had a clear view of
the children's graves at Saint

118
00:07:14,320 --> 00:07:17,200
Oswald's church. And so it was
very difficult for them. So they

119
00:07:17,209 --> 00:07:21,630
moved to Rydal Mount in 1813 and
he lives at Rydal until his

120
00:07:21,640 --> 00:07:21,970
death.

121
00:07:25,329 --> 00:07:28,019
JAMES GRASBY: It's said that
some of Wordsworth's best work

122
00:07:28,029 --> 00:07:32,640
was in fact published after his
death. The Prelude only hit the

123
00:07:32,649 --> 00:07:39,109
printing press in 1853 months
after Wordsworth's death. "

124
00:07:39,109 --> 00:07:41,910
PETER COLQUITT: Was it for this
that won the fairest of all

125
00:07:41,920 --> 00:07:46,850
rivers. Loved to blend his
murmurs with my nurse's song and

126
00:07:46,859 --> 00:07:50,880
from his elder shades and rocky
falls and from his fjords and

127
00:07:50,890 --> 00:07:55,839
shallows, sent a voice that
flowed along my dreams for this

128
00:07:55,850 --> 00:08:00,339
didst thou o Derwent winding
among grassy homes." "

129
00:08:00,339 --> 00:08:05,049
Where I was looking on, a babe
in arms, make ceaseless music

130
00:08:05,390 --> 00:08:10,220
that composed my thoughts to
more than infant softness giving

131
00:08:10,230 --> 00:08:15,540
me amid the fretful dwellings of
mankind. A foretaste, a dim

132
00:08:15,549 --> 00:08:20,010
earnest of the calm that nature
breathes among the hills and

133
00:08:20,019 --> 00:08:23,869
groves."

134
00:08:23,869 --> 00:08:25,850
JAMES GRASBY: Having heard those
beautiful words from The

135
00:08:25,859 --> 00:08:29,070
Prelude, I'm making a short
journey north to the pretty town

136
00:08:29,079 --> 00:08:32,530
of Cockermouth where Wordsworth
spent his childhood to hear

137
00:08:32,539 --> 00:08:34,599
those river murmurs for myself.

138
00:08:43,270 --> 00:08:46,419
That was the noise of going
through a torrential puddle. The

139
00:08:46,429 --> 00:08:49,770
rain is pouring down on our
journey to Cockermouth to

140
00:08:49,780 --> 00:08:52,085
William Wordsworth's birthplace.

141
00:08:52,085 --> 00:08:54,390
We're traveling through the
heart of the Lake District,

142
00:08:54,400 --> 00:08:58,549
Cockermouth is about 18 miles
northwest of Grassmere.

143
00:08:58,559 --> 00:09:01,789
And the landscape here is quite
sensational. I mean, one can

144
00:09:01,799 --> 00:09:05,140
hardly see the tops of the
mountains that rise very steeply

145
00:09:05,340 --> 00:09:10,049
to either side, lone rather
desolate and bleak looking pine

146
00:09:10,059 --> 00:09:12,440
trees and leafless ash.

147
00:09:14,710 --> 00:09:17,150
We've just come off the main
street in Cockermouth down a

148
00:09:17,159 --> 00:09:20,520
side street into the side
entrance of Wordsworth's

149
00:09:21,130 --> 00:09:24,780
birthplace. A very warm coloured
stone building. Coming to a

150
00:09:24,789 --> 00:09:26,669
green door. I'm gonna see who's
here.

151
00:09:28,460 --> 00:09:33,989
We're just, were just gonna go
in!

152
00:09:33,989 --> 00:09:40,030
Let's wander through. This looks
very much like the outworks of

153
00:09:40,039 --> 00:09:42,739
rather a grand house. I mean,
it's a substantial building.

154
00:09:45,229 --> 00:09:49,179
I'm meeting Alex Morgan. She's
the interpretation manager in

155
00:09:49,190 --> 00:09:52,190
the house and hopefully she can
shed some more light on the

156
00:09:52,200 --> 00:09:53,489
Wordsworth's childhood.

157
00:09:56,000 --> 00:09:57,539
ALEX MORGAN: How do you do? It's
lovely to meet you.

158
00:09:57,549 --> 00:10:00,119
JAMES GRASBY: I'm bowled over by
this beautiful house. A building

159
00:10:00,130 --> 00:10:02,520
of, of some grandeur really,
isn't it?

160
00:10:02,799 --> 00:10:05,369
ALEX MORGAN: But the reason the
Wordsworth family were here is

161
00:10:05,380 --> 00:10:08,390
not because they were
tremendously wealthy. And I

162
00:10:08,400 --> 00:10:10,919
think if people come in thinking
that it can give a very

163
00:10:10,969 --> 00:10:14,630
misleading impression of
William's background, but in

164
00:10:14,640 --> 00:10:18,429
fact, the Wordsworths lived here
because this house is- it was, a

165
00:10:18,440 --> 00:10:21,679
perk of William's father, John's
job.

166
00:10:22,030 --> 00:10:26,520
He worked as agent for Sir James
Louther. James Louther was the

167
00:10:26,530 --> 00:10:28,219
biggest bigwig around.

168
00:10:28,229 --> 00:10:31,590
He was the wealthiest, most
important man in the area. He

169
00:10:31,599 --> 00:10:33,750
owned all the coal mines out on
the coast.

170
00:10:33,760 --> 00:10:36,250
He controlled all the
parliamentary seats.

171
00:10:36,320 --> 00:10:38,250
He was everyone's landlord
basically.

172
00:10:38,650 --> 00:10:42,729
And John Wordsworth as a young
go getting lawyer got the job

173
00:10:42,909 --> 00:10:47,039
and he got use of this house as
part of that. So that's why the

174
00:10:47,049 --> 00:10:49,950
Wordsworths fetched up here.
They couldn't have ever afforded

175
00:10:49,960 --> 00:10:51,849
the likes of this in any other
way.

176
00:10:52,520 --> 00:10:54,349
JAMES GRASBY: How did the
Wordsworth live here?

177
00:10:55,270 --> 00:10:57,909
ALEX MORGAN: It was effectively
a sort of a corporate

178
00:10:57,919 --> 00:11:01,969
entertainment venue as much as a
family home. The words of us

179
00:11:01,979 --> 00:11:06,619
were expected to entertain here.
So I certainly think that

180
00:11:06,630 --> 00:11:09,679
William and Dorothy and their
brothers as small children would

181
00:11:09,690 --> 00:11:13,330
not have been having free reign
within the house.

182
00:11:13,340 --> 00:11:15,719
They would have been in the more
day to day rooms, the family

183
00:11:15,729 --> 00:11:18,929
parlour, the kitchen with the
maid and sort of staying out of

184
00:11:18,940 --> 00:11:21,969
the way and basically roaming
the countryside probably to keep

185
00:11:21,979 --> 00:11:23,729
out from under people's feet as
well.

186
00:11:23,869 --> 00:11:28,159
So let's have a walk around,
shall we? We'll start with the

187
00:11:28,169 --> 00:11:31,679
formal dining room, which is
just here.

188
00:11:33,440 --> 00:11:36,059
There we go. That's a little bit
better. A bit of light such as

189
00:11:36,070 --> 00:11:36,719
it is.

190
00:11:36,719 --> 00:11:39,099
JAMES GRASBY: An elegant
cornice, a very handsome chimney

191
00:11:39,109 --> 00:11:41,609
piece. I mean, this is the
height of luxury, isn't it?

192
00:11:41,840 --> 00:11:45,090
ALEX MORGAN: It really is. But
this would have been a room for

193
00:11:45,099 --> 00:11:49,929
special occasions only, dinner
parties, Christmas, that sort of

194
00:11:49,940 --> 00:11:52,750
thing. The children would
certainly not have been welcome

195
00:11:52,760 --> 00:11:53,419
in here.

196
00:11:53,429 --> 00:11:55,919
JAMES GRASBY: The furniture and
pictures, none of the material

197
00:11:55,929 --> 00:11:57,299
is Wordsworth.

198
00:11:57,809 --> 00:12:00,030
ALEX MORGAN: There is really
next to nothing because it was a

199
00:12:00,039 --> 00:12:02,950
tide cottage because the parents
died young and the children were

200
00:12:02,960 --> 00:12:06,469
sent away. Other people moved in
here, but the Wordsworth

201
00:12:06,479 --> 00:12:11,739
possessions had to be sold off
to help support the children. "

202
00:12:11,739 --> 00:12:15,210
PETER COLQUITT: Early died my
honoured mother, she who was the

203
00:12:15,219 --> 00:12:22,679
heart and hinge of all our
learnings and our loves."

204
00:12:22,679 --> 00:12:26,320
ALEX MORGAN: After William's
mother died, their father really

205
00:12:26,330 --> 00:12:29,099
couldn't cope with such a large
young family.

206
00:12:29,520 --> 00:12:33,349
So poor little Dorothy just aged
about six years old, was packed

207
00:12:33,359 --> 00:12:36,299
off to relatives that she'd
never met in Halifax.

208
00:12:36,859 --> 00:12:39,900
It must have felt like going to
the moon. It was so far away.

209
00:12:40,830 --> 00:12:44,390
And William and his brother
Richard, his older brother went

210
00:12:44,400 --> 00:12:47,809
down to Hawkshead where they
became borders with a local

211
00:12:47,820 --> 00:12:48,719
family down there.

212
00:12:48,729 --> 00:12:50,849
And they went to the grammar
school in Hawkshead.

213
00:12:51,270 --> 00:12:54,369
And because of this William and
Dorothy didn't see each other

214
00:12:54,380 --> 00:12:56,409
for such a long time for years
and years.

215
00:12:56,419 --> 00:12:59,190
Basically, as a result of the
loss of their mother, the whole

216
00:12:59,200 --> 00:13:01,570
family was sort of flung in
opposite directions.

217
00:13:01,919 --> 00:13:06,830
And that happy life here came to
an end. But the influence of the

218
00:13:06,840 --> 00:13:09,200
time here never left any of
them.

219
00:13:14,119 --> 00:13:17,130
So here we are on the landing of
the stairs, I've just opened the

220
00:13:17,140 --> 00:13:20,380
blind and you can see through
this massive great big window,

221
00:13:20,669 --> 00:13:25,059
the vista of the garden in front
of us and also the Derwent, the

222
00:13:25,070 --> 00:13:30,729
river, flowing just behind there
you can see. "

223
00:13:30,729 --> 00:13:33,789
PETER COLQUITT: When having left
his mountains to the towers of

224
00:13:33,799 --> 00:13:37,630
Cockermouth. That beauteous
river came. Behind my father's

225
00:13:37,640 --> 00:13:42,650
house he passed close by along
the margin of our terrace walk.

226
00:13:43,070 --> 00:13:49,750
He was a playmate whom we dearly
loved."

227
00:13:49,750 --> 00:13:53,119
ALEX MORGAN: This was the
fairest of all rivers as William

228
00:13:53,130 --> 00:13:57,369
described it. And in his memory,
it is this wonderful place to

229
00:13:57,380 --> 00:14:02,159
swim and fish and play. "

230
00:14:02,159 --> 00:14:05,609
PETER COLQUITT: Oh, pleasant,
pleasant were the days the time

231
00:14:05,619 --> 00:14:10,450
when in our childish plays my
sister Emmeline and I together

232
00:14:10,460 --> 00:14:13,520
chased the butterfly."

233
00:14:13,520 --> 00:14:15,429
ALEX MORGAN: In reality though
in those days, it was an open

234
00:14:15,440 --> 00:14:16,049
sewer.

235
00:14:16,059 --> 00:14:23,080
It wasn't actually that nice but
that's the wonder of memory and

236
00:14:23,090 --> 00:14:26,369
hindsight, it makes everything
absolutely idyllic!

237
00:14:26,789 --> 00:14:31,349
But this was the place that this
great love of nature comes from.

238
00:14:31,359 --> 00:14:35,299
And the first steps into that
were this garden and this walled

239
00:14:35,309 --> 00:14:39,869
garden is where he and Dorothy
spent their very happiest young

240
00:14:39,880 --> 00:14:40,510
years.

241
00:14:51,119 --> 00:14:55,260
John and Anne Wordsworth do seem
to been very unusual parents for

242
00:14:55,270 --> 00:14:58,900
the time. We think it's highly
possible that John and Anne had

243
00:14:58,909 --> 00:15:02,510
read the works of Rousseau, the
philosopher, who was very

244
00:15:02,520 --> 00:15:04,840
fashionable among young adults
at the time.

245
00:15:05,210 --> 00:15:08,570
And he did say that children
should be outside, they should

246
00:15:08,580 --> 00:15:09,840
be free, they should be in
nature.

247
00:15:09,849 --> 00:15:12,460
This is how you get them to
develop properly, give them

248
00:15:12,469 --> 00:15:15,440
freedom to grow into the people
they need to be.

249
00:15:15,809 --> 00:15:20,669
But that was unusual and very
radical. So maybe that was the

250
00:15:20,679 --> 00:15:22,989
influence, that was the reason
they were given so much freedom.

251
00:15:35,080 --> 00:15:37,869
So we've had a look around the
house. Now we're going to take a

252
00:15:37,880 --> 00:15:42,059
walk down the garden because
really from William's

253
00:15:42,070 --> 00:15:44,190
perspective, this is the
important place.

254
00:15:45,359 --> 00:15:47,909
JAMES GRASBY: Being a Romantic
poet wasn't for sissies. My

255
00:15:47,919 --> 00:15:51,700
goodness, it is pouring with
rain, but it is a soft romantic

256
00:15:51,710 --> 00:15:52,140
rain.

257
00:15:52,799 --> 00:15:55,849
ALEX MORGAN: We do think that in
Wordsworth's time, it would have

258
00:15:55,859 --> 00:15:59,929
been a working garden. It
wouldn't have been laid out with

259
00:15:59,940 --> 00:16:03,340
lawns for instance, it would
have been, we're pretty certain

260
00:16:03,349 --> 00:16:08,940
as we have it now, a very much a
working garden that produces the

261
00:16:08,950 --> 00:16:13,030
fruit, vegetables, edible
flowers, herbs that they would

262
00:16:13,039 --> 00:16:14,820
have used in the house.

263
00:16:15,150 --> 00:16:17,990
JAMES GRASBY: So it's laid out
symmetrically, we've got 1, 2,

264
00:16:17,990 --> 00:16:23,119
3, 4 columns if you like of
beds, these small, they look

265
00:16:23,130 --> 00:16:25,340
like fruit trees to me. But- [
Cross Talk] apple trees?

266
00:16:25,710 --> 00:16:29,369
ALEX MORGAN: Yes. And some
really rare heritage varieties

267
00:16:29,409 --> 00:16:33,080
of trees that we have here and
we get absolutely glorious crop

268
00:16:33,090 --> 00:16:36,340
of apples from them. They're
largely cooking apples because

269
00:16:36,349 --> 00:16:39,369
in William's time, if you were
eating fruit, you would largely

270
00:16:39,380 --> 00:16:40,500
be eating it cooked.

271
00:16:40,679 --> 00:16:44,135
That was seen as a- as a sort of
a safer way to eat it because

272
00:16:44,145 --> 00:16:46,994
fruit was something that people
were rather alarmed by and it

273
00:16:47,005 --> 00:16:49,284
was seen as rather dangerous
food that can make you ill.

274
00:16:49,515 --> 00:16:54,544
So everything in the garden is a
heritage variety. The particular

275
00:16:54,554 --> 00:16:57,215
varieties that are here are
things we think that William and

276
00:16:57,224 --> 00:17:00,104
Dorothy would have recognized.
We don't have anything modern.

277
00:17:03,479 --> 00:17:05,619
JAMES GRASBY: And by the sound
of it, the river just as the

278
00:17:05,630 --> 00:17:08,729
other side of this wall is in
full speed. That's the Derwent

279
00:17:08,739 --> 00:17:09,130
is it?

280
00:17:09,170 --> 00:17:12,270
ALEX MORGAN: It is! it is the
Derwent, William's fairest of

281
00:17:12,280 --> 00:17:13,150
all rivers.

282
00:17:18,900 --> 00:17:20,699
JAMES GRASBY: Well, it's been an
astonishing day.

283
00:17:23,619 --> 00:17:27,420
What I've learned and
discovered, which has been

284
00:17:27,430 --> 00:17:33,010
revelatory for me really is to
now think of Wordsworth in a

285
00:17:33,020 --> 00:17:37,319
much more three dimensional way
that up to now I felt his

286
00:17:37,329 --> 00:17:40,709
contribution and my knowledge of
Wordsworth was just a few pieces

287
00:17:40,719 --> 00:17:41,359
of his poetry.

288
00:17:41,369 --> 00:17:46,359
But I can now see the origins
really of his genius have been

289
00:17:46,369 --> 00:17:50,959
very drawn in and taken by this
absolutely beautiful part of the

290
00:17:51,290 --> 00:17:52,750
country.

291
00:17:52,750 --> 00:17:57,939
And realise that he was not just
a great national figure, but a

292
00:17:57,949 --> 00:18:02,750
real man with real emotions and
a family like the rest of us.

293
00:18:03,439 --> 00:18:07,250
And what has- visiting these
places has triggered in my mind,

294
00:18:07,260 --> 00:18:12,459
what- what are those things that
we all need in order to

295
00:18:12,469 --> 00:18:13,420
flourish?

296
00:18:13,839 --> 00:18:16,770
And I think what it comes down
to particularly in Wordsworth's

297
00:18:16,780 --> 00:18:22,979
story, those hardy perennial
ideas of love of nurture of care

298
00:18:23,099 --> 00:18:27,819
of parenting of the friends that
you meet, the way that you

299
00:18:27,829 --> 00:18:30,020
conduct yourself, all these
things.

300
00:18:30,979 --> 00:18:33,939
I've very much come through not
only in the story of his life,

301
00:18:33,949 --> 00:18:37,729
but in the literary works that
he produced. I'm gonna go ahead

302
00:18:37,739 --> 00:18:39,920
and start reading more
Wordsworth.

303
00:18:48,780 --> 00:18:51,380
Thanks for listening to this
episode of the National Trust

304
00:18:51,390 --> 00:18:52,099
podcast.

305
00:18:53,770 --> 00:18:57,469
For more information about
Wordsworth House and Alan Bank,

306
00:18:57,479 --> 00:19:03,218
you can visit their website at
nationaltrust.org.uk/wordsworth-

307
00:19:03,218 --> 00:19:07,839
-house and
nationaltrust.org.uk/allan-bank.

308
00:19:08,160 --> 00:19:11,920
In the next episode, I'll be
exploring the Devonshire retreat

309
00:19:11,930 --> 00:19:14,849
of one of England's most
celebrated detective writers,

310
00:19:14,859 --> 00:19:15,859
Agatha Christie.

311
00:19:16,609 --> 00:19:19,609
That episode will be available
in a couple of weeks, but there

312
00:19:19,619 --> 00:19:23,069
will be a mini episode available
next week where we'll be hearing

313
00:19:23,079 --> 00:19:25,910
more about how visitors can
transport themselves back in

314
00:19:25,920 --> 00:19:29,390
time at Wordsworth House.

315
00:19:29,390 --> 00:19:32,540
To make sure you never miss
another episode, subscribe on

316
00:19:32,550 --> 00:19:36,410
itunes or your chosen podcast
app and please do let us know

317
00:19:36,420 --> 00:19:39,609
what you thought of this episode
on Facebook, Twitter or

318
00:19:39,619 --> 00:19:40,329
Instagram.

319
00:19:40,489 --> 00:19:46,410
You can also email us at
podcasts@nationaltrust.org.uk

320
00:19:46,540 --> 00:19:49,400
until the next time from me,
James Grasby. Goodbye.