Wordsworth's House

Wordsworth House and Garden, in the Cumbrian town of Cockermouth, is the birthplace and childhood home of romantic poet William and his sister Dorothy.

It is presented as it would have been when they lived here with their parents, three brothers and servants in the 1770s.

Today, this homely Georgian townhouse is peopled by our knowledgeable 21st-century guides and, on selected dates, the maid or manservant is hard at work – and keen to chat.

There is real food on the dining table, a fire burning in the working kitchen and a recipe William and Dorothy might have eaten for you to taste. Ink and quill pens are ready in the clerk’s office, and if you play the piano, you might like to try our replica harpsichord.

The children’s bedroom is full of toys and dressing up clothes, and in the Wordsworth Room there are books and games to enjoy. Down in the cellar, the household’s ghosts are waiting to tell their stories.

The garden is packed with 18th-century vegetables, fruit, herbs and flowers, just as it would have been when William played – and learned his love of nature – here.

Your school’s visit to the 18th century

Our curriculum-linked guided and teacher-led sessions will give your pupils a real sense of what it would have been like to grow up almost 250 years ago, in William and Dorothy Wordsworth's childhood home. 

What did Georgian children eat? What did they wear? How often did they wash? And what if they were naughty or ill? Our sessions, which answer these questions and many more, are fun, interactive and aim to inspire creativity.

Sessions are available Monday to Thursday, from 9.30-11am, between March and October (please contact us for details and to book). 

In our working 18th-century kitchen

Key stage 1 + 2: How we used to live 
What was life like in William Wordsworth’s childhood home? The children will meet the maid-of-all-work or manservant and be encouraged to think about the differences and similarities between William’s home and their own. They will handle everyday objects from the past and discover more about the people who used them.

Key stage 2: It’s good to be green 
A version of the above session with added emphasis on recycling and being green, things the Georgians were remarkably good at.

In the children’s bedroom

Key stage 1: Child’s play
This session, led by the nursemaid, looks at sleeping, hygiene, clothes and toys in a typical Georgian home – this can include time testing the children’s bed, dressing up in replica 18th-century costume and trying out reproduction toys.

Key stage 2: Inspiring William
A more advanced version of this session including an introduction to William’s poem The Butterfly.

Key stage 2: Hardy and healthy
This session looks in greater depth at childhood and health in the late 18th century, including some very strange cures.

In the drawing room

Key stage 1 + 2: Time for a song
Enjoy the sounds of the 18th century by singing some traditional songs accompanied by our replica harpsichord. In this session, led by one of our volunteers, pupils will discover the importance of singing and music for 18th-century families and learn some songs William might have sung.

Elsewhere in the house and garden

Key stage 2: What can you sense?
This creative writing session, led by one of the staff team in either the house or garden, focuses on William’s love of nature and encourages the children to use all their senses to start writing a poem of their own.

Key stage 1 + 2: How does your garden grow?
A children’s tour of our kitchen garden led by the gardener, including the chance to taste some herbs and edible flowers.

Teacher-led sessions
Teacher’s notes are provided for these unguided sessions.

Key stage 1 + 2: Every picture tells a story
Why were portraits painted when Wordsworth was a boy? What do these pictures tell us about the people in them? Using a selection of portraits, children discover the answers to these questions and have a go at drawing themselves or each other.

Key stage 1 + 2: What do you think it is?
A chance to examine and discuss some everyday objects from William’s time.

Key stage 2: The human photocopier
A session in the clerk’s office, looking at writing, coins, postage and travel in the past, which includes a chance to write with a quill pen and ink.

Key stage 2: What can you sense?
A teacher-led version of the above creative writing session.