BARS has been requested to circulate this letter from Charlotte Wontner on the campaign to maintain Rydal Mount as a public museum.
Dear All,
I am writing with some urgency as I am trying to save Wordsworth’s historic home Rydal Mount (1813 until his death in 1850) https://www.rydalmount.co.uk/. Currently open to the public, the house is now at risk of being sold into private ownership as it has been put up for sale this month. As one of the most important sites in the UK’s literary landscape, its house and gardens have inspired generations of poets, writers, environmentalists and lovers of the arts. Losing it as a public monument to Wordsworth would be an irreplaceable tragedy.
As a direct descendent of the great poet, I am launching a campaign to acquire the property and place it in trust, ensuring it remains open to the public as a centre for poetry, literature, and artistic inspiration.
We would greatly value your thoughts on potential supporters who might help bring this plan to fruition. While lovers of poetry and literature are natural allies, we also hope to engage with artists, actors, writers, broadcasters, academics, garden enthusiasts, environmentalists, and (it goes without saying) possible financial patrons. Additionally, we hope that educational institutions might be interested in endowing a poet, writer, artist-in-residence or gardener-in-residence programme or acquiring the house to preserve its cultural legacy.
Dating back to the 16th century, Rydal Mount has been open to the public all year round since 1970, when it was acquired by my grandmother and filled with a unique collection of Wordsworth artefacts. We very much hope to keep this collection in the house for the education and enjoyment of future generations. Rydal Mount is the most beautiful, tranquil and magical place where one’s imagination and creativity can run free. So many visitors return again and again as it is such a wonderful escape from the modern world, a place to reflect on Wordsworth’s art and values, and to fuel the creative imaginations of future generations. We really want to keep the Rydal Mount story alive and know that we can do this with a community of like-minded people.
Your support in any form would not only help to secure this cultural treasure for the future but also reaffirm the importance of preserving spaces that nurture creativity and artistic heritage. If you are open to a conversation, I would love to discuss how you might like to be involved in this endeavour.
Here is the website link; https://saverydalmount.org.uk/. If you feel you would like to subscribe and share I would be very grateful.
Thank you for your time and consideration. I deeply appreciate any support you may be able to offer in safeguarding this extraordinary piece of literary history.
Yours sincerely,
Charlotte Wontner
Here is an article about the campaign; https://cumbriacrack.com/2025/04/23/leading-actors-and-artists-join-forces-to-save-lake-district-home-of-william-wordsworth/
Charlotte Wontner
Hopscotch Films