I loved English, history and RE lessons when I was in school. I wasn't so good at subjects like Domestic Science or Maths and the less said about my (lack of) sporting talents the better. I was that brace-faced, glasses wearing nerd in the front row who always had her hand up in the air and could rattle off loads of random stuff. Still am. Obviously minus the braces!
Attempting to cram poetry into my dyslexic brain was more of a challenge. Apart from vague memories of, "Seasons of mellow fruitfulness ..." and "Exit, pursed by a bear" there's not much I remember from the Keats and Shakespeare I studied back then. I do remember visiting the Keats House in Hampstead with some friends. Not sure about the others, but I've never been back since. Until the other weekend.
Keats shared some rooms in the house with his friend, Charles Brown, from December 1818 to September 1820 and wrote most of his major poems while he lived there. He left to go to Rome in the hope of alleviating his tuberculosis and died from the disease the following year, aged just 25.
The house contains original manuscripts and artefacts - all beautifully arranged - telling the story of Keats' short life. There is also a small display on Keats's sweetheart, Fanny Brawne, who lived next door.
It's a really lovely place to spend a morning even if you're not a big poetry fan. Afterwards, go down the road to Polly's Tea Room and for a wander around the Heath.
Here are a few photos of my visit:
And a piece of Keats' poetry:
Hope you enjoyed looking around with me and that everyone had a great half-term break. Thank you, as always, for reading.
Great post - loved the walk through of the house from your pictures #MarvMondays
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed it. It was a lovely place to visit. Well worth the trip
Deleteso much history, must have been fascinating to see original manuscripts. Thank you so much for sharing with me at #mg
ReplyDeleteIt was. We really enjoyed it
DeleteReally great. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed it :) Thank you for commenting
DeleteAh Keats. I feel now I'm older I only really truly appreciate him. The house looks lovely. It would be great to be able to visit. Such a shame he died so young. I bet he regretted the move! #twinklytuesday
ReplyDeleteIt's a beautiful spot - but probably much changed since Keats lived there!
DeleteLove a bit of history! Great photos and it looks like a great place to visit. #TweensTeensBeyond
ReplyDeleteIt's fascinating - even if you[re not particularly interested in Keats. It' great seeing how people used to live
DeleteI don't know much about poetry I'm afraid, but I've always enjoyed wandering around places like this and taking a peek into the past. Great pics
ReplyDeleteI loved it for that. The kitchen was quite something. Washday must have been really grim!
DeleteI love Keats, and Keats' house! What beautiful photos you've taken (and thanks for reminding me about Polly's Tea Room!) #DreamTeam
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed it and thank you for the lovely comment. Polly's Tea Room was a really unexpected gem. It looks like nothing on the outside, but the food was excellent, reasonably priced and the staff were lovely. We were really pleased to have stumbled on it.
DeleteI'm interested in the dress in Keats' bedroom. Perhaps it's what he wore to bed! This looks like a really lovely place to visit- thanks for sharing. It's somewhere I wouldn't have thought to go!
ReplyDelete#TweensTeensBeyond
The dress was part of the exhibition on Fanny Brauwne, the love of Keats life but I don't think it was something she wore. It's not somewhere obvious, but it's a really interesting place to visit and not too expensive :)
DeleteLooks like a great place to visit with the family #bestandworst
ReplyDeleteIt is as it gives you plenty of opportunities for conversations about how we used to live. We had a great conversation about washing machines. As you do!
DeleteI never knew Keats had such a short life! Lovely place to visit though and see where he lived! Thanks for sharing with #bestandworst
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing how young they all were. Really sad too. Thank you for hosting each week
DeleteWhat a fascinating place and such a sad story! Dying at 25 of TB! I love the way they have written excerpts of poems on the walls. Thanks so much for sharing with us at #TweensTeensBeyond
ReplyDeleteThe poems on the walls were lovely. There were others, but my photos were too fuzzy to share. Thank you for commenting
DeleteWhat a brilliant thing to do. I was in Hampstead just last week funnily enough. You have some beautiful pictures captured there. One to check out for the list! Thanks for joining us at #tweensteensbeyond
ReplyDeleteIt is one of those unexpected places to go. I love the fact that London is full of them :)
DeleteThank you for showing us around. #mg
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure! Hope you enjoyed it
DeleteWhat a lovely place to visit. I love it when houses like these have been preserved so that we can still enjoy them today. It looks like it would make a lovely morning or afternoon out. Thanks for sharing this with us on #MarvMondays. Emily
ReplyDeleteYou're right - it's a great morning or afternoon out. We totally enjoyed it. And I may have given my washing machine an appreciative pat when I got home after seeing what they used back then
DeleteMy daughter has just started studying poetry at school and hates it with a passion, or so she says! I loved it but not until I got to University to be fair but I am determined she will. Keats is a favourite and have not been to his house and it is a while since I went to Hampstead so will put it on my list of places to visit. Thanks for linking. #TweensTeensBeyond
ReplyDeleteIt's a really great place to go and not too expensive! Hope you enjoy the trip :)
DeleteOh this looks great! I love visiting places where people used to live - thanks for sharing with #dreamteam x
ReplyDeleteI do too. I am so nosy ...
DeleteI absolutely love places like these. The history you breathe just from these pictures, never mind from actually being there is incredible. #mg
ReplyDeleteMe too. I love coming across unexpected history :)
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