Blake's Cottage
| Blake's Cottage | |
| Sussex | |
|---|---|
 Blake's Cottgae, Felpham | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SZ95099966 |
| Location: | 50°47’19"N, -0°39’9"W |
| Village: | Felpham |
| History | |
| Built 17th century | |
| House | |
| Vernacular | |
| Information | |
| Owned by: | Blake's Cottage Trust |
Blake's Cottage stands in the village of Felpham in Sussex. The house dates from the 17th century. Its name commemorates the period when it as occupied by the mystic poet William Blake, from 1800 to 1803. During his time at the house, Blake wrote the verses "And did those feet in ancient time", the preface to his Milton: A Poem in Two Books, which were later set to music as the song "Jerusalem".
The original cottage dates from the 17th century.[1] It is of two storeys and is constructed of cob, flint and brick with a thatched roof.[2]
The cottage, now owned by a trust, is a Grade II* listed building.[2] A garden wall at the house is itself Grade II-listed.<re>National Heritage List 1375729: Roadside Garden Wall with Archway Linking It to Blakes Cottage (Grade II listing)</ref>
History and description
William Hayley, poet and biographer of his friend William Cowper, began the construction of a house, called The Turret, at Felpham in 1798. In 1800, he invited William Blake, and his wife Catherine, to the village to illustrate his own works.[1] Blake remained at Felpham for three years, residing at his "cot" south of the village church. During his residence Blake wrote much of Milton: A Poem in Two Books, the preface of which was subsequently adapted into the pseudo-hymn "Jerusalem".[3]
The cottage is now managed by the Blake's Cottage Trust[4] which bought the building in 2015.[5] The trust has sought to raise funds to undertake restoration of the cottage[6] but this has proved challenging.[7] In November 2021, concerns regarding the fabric of the building saw the cottage being placed on the 2021 Heritage at Risk Register. The trust aims to complete renovation of the cottage by 2027, the bicentenary of Blake's death.[8]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Williamson et al. 2019, pp. 377–378.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 National Heritage List 1353792: Blake's Cottage (Grade II* listing)
- ↑ Whittaker, Jason (26 December 2019). "Almost everything you know about the hymn Jerusalem is wrong". Prospect Magazine. https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/arts-and-books/almost-everything-you-know-about-the-hymn-jerusalem-is-wrong.
- ↑ The Blake Cottage Trust - Registered Charity no. 1160716 at the Charity Commission
- ↑ Cripps, Charlotte (18 July 2014). "William Blake's cottage for sale". The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/property/william-blake-s-cottage-sale-9614092.html.
- ↑ "Blake's Cottage – If a thing loves it is infinite". Blake Cottage Trust. https://blakecottage.org/.
- ↑ Brooks, Richard (25 August 2019). "The future looks bleak for the restoration of William Blake’s cottage". The Guardian. http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/aug/25/future-bleak-restoration-william-blake-cottage-jerusalem.
- ↑ Fuller, Christian (4 November 2021). "Poet William Blake's Jerusalem cottage among sites at risk of being lost forever". The Brighton Argus. https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/19691909.william-blakes-jerusalem-cottage-among-sussex-sites-risk-lost-forever/.
- Nikolaus Pevsner: The Buildings of England: Sussex, 1965 Penguin Books ISBN 978-0-300-09677-4