Literary folk and the listed buildings they lived in

By Andy Duarte Insurance Advisor

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Exploring the home of famous writers is a fascinating way to spend your time. Their living environments offer up many clues as to what inspired them, and many of these have protected or listed status so are preserved and well-maintained for all to enjoy. Here, with a little help from the National Trust, we look at a handful of Abode’s favourite homes with a literary twist.

Rudyard Kipling, Bateman’s, East Sussex

The 17^th century Jacobean home of writer Rudyard Kipling is the perfect place to start us on our journey. Standing out in the Sussex Weald, this was the place that gave Kipling a landscape to admire from his study as he penned The Jungle Book. And on that subject, there’s now a wonderful Jungle Book trail and adventure park for both the young and not-so-young to enjoy.

Kipling and his wife Caroline bought the house in 1902, remaining there until their deaths in 1936 and 1939. As well as being the perfect place to write and ramble, it provided some level of solace when they lost their beloved son John in the First World War.

So many elements have been left “as is”, with the study being of particular interest thanks to the ink marks on his jotter and crowded bookshelves. But there are also many treasures collected from travels to “The East”, including Oriental rugs and Asian artefacts.

The author of “Kim”, “The Man Who Would be King”, and “The Just So Stories” had lived in many places before he and Caroline came upon Bateman’s, which was far from a rural idyll when they moved in. He wrote of the property in 1902:

“Behold us, lawful owners of a grey stone lichened house – A.D. 1634 over the door – beamed, panelled, with old oak staircase, and all untouched and unfaked. It is a good and peaceable place. We have loved it ever since our first sight of it.”

But despite that initial earnestness over the lack of modernity, Rudyard Kipling himself called his Grade I listed home “A good and peaceable place”, which is the feeling so many visitors get when seeing it for themselves.

Find out more about the rooms, gardens, opening hours, and facilities here.

Thomas Hardy’s cottage, near Dorchester, Dorset

Far from the madding crowd is the Grade II listed birthplace of Thomas Hardy in 1840, built by his own great-grandfather. The thatch and cob cottage was where he penned the aforementioned book, as well as “Under the Greenwood Tree”.

We know from Hardy’s writing that Dorset (often referred to as Wessex) is almost always a key character in itself, so the cottage and gardens have been lovingly preserved to reflect this. Open hearths and stone floors characterise the inside of the cottage, while the garden is festooned with roses. There’s also an apple orchard to explore.

While Hardy moved out to nearby Dorchester upon his marriage to Emma Gifford, it’s this period-pieced cottage and surrounding land that fuelled his literary and rather dark masterpieces, including “Jude the Obscure” and “Tess of the d’Urbervilles”.

With a dedicated visitor centre opened in 2014 and funds from the National Lottery, this National Trust property should absolutely be on your literary must-do list when in Dorset.

Find out more here.

Beatrix Potter, Hill Top, Ambleside, Cumbria

Few authors and illustrators have such a strong tie to their surroundings as Beatrix Potter does. The creator of Peter Rabbit, Jemima Puddleduck, Jeremy Fisher, Squirrel Nutkin, to name but a few, fell in love with the Lake District from an early age, when during summer holidays with her family she’d spend most of her time sketching nature and animals, including these inkings in letters to friends.

It was with the proceeds of “The Tales of Peter Rabbit” that Potter purchased Hill Top in 1905, a working farm built in the 17^th century and an ideal retreat for the increasingly in-demand writer and illustrator.

Architecturally this Grade II listed building is a fine example of a Lakeland structure, combining a vernacular fashion with stone walls and a slate roof.

The garden is also of great interest as it has been maintained in Potter’s illustrative style as if any second Peter Rabbit and friends may jump out to say hello.

Ever the canny businesswoman, the forward-thinking writer diversified into being a successful sheep farmer, rearing thousands of Hardwick sheep on a nearby former deer park.

Discover more about Hill Top and visiting times here.

Agatha Christie, Greenway, near Brixham, Devon

And now we have a mystery to solve. What detective writer lived in a place like this. We don’t need Marple or Poirot’s help as the answer is of course Agatha Christie. A lifelong fan of Torquay, the English Riviera, the writer purchased Greenway, a place she’d known about since her youth, in 1938 with her second husband, archaeologist Max Mallowan.

In her own words, Christie described the Grade II listed property as “A white Georgian house of about 1780 or 90, with woods sweeping down to the (river) Dart below, and a lot of fine shrubs and trees – the ideal house, a dream house”.

And such a grand and imposing house naturally found its way into several of her books, including the “A.B.C. Murders”, “Five Little Pigs”, “Towards Zero”, and “Dead Man’s Folly”, which actually used the house and estate for the TV dramatisation of the Poirot mystery.

Although requisitioned by the armed forces during WWII, mainly to house evacuees, the Greenway Estate was returned to Christie on Christmas Day 1945.

Greenway, now a National Trust property, does more than simply tell the background story of this fascinating and yes, mysterious writer. It also houses a collection of 500 books in the library (including all the English and foreign imprints of each novel), as well as objects and significant archaeological relics curated by Mallowan and Christie on their travels around the world.

Further details on Greenway and when to visit can be found here.

Shaw’s Corner, Welwyn, Herts

The final stop on our magical literary tour takes us to Shaw’s Corner, a Grade II listed property in Welwyn, Hertfordshire, and a place that was very important to playwright, philosopher, and politician George Bernard Shaw for more than 40 years, first renting, then buying the Edwardian property.

The Dublin-born author of “Pygmalion”, “Arms and the Man”, and “Saint Joan” lived in this villa-style house from 1906, although he and his wife, Charlotte Payne-Townsend, also kept on their London home. Each and every room keeps alive the spirit, philosophy, and beliefs of this prolific author and critic, with much of the décor reflecting Shaw’s attachment and interest in the Arts and Crafts movement of the time.

A champion for social justice but still seen as someone who held both controversial and contradictory opinions, Shaw penned more than 250,000 letters, articles and pamphlets aside from his plays – the majority of which were written in this house or in the garden.

Want to know more? Click here for details on when to visit.

There are plenty more places of historical interest that were once home to a writer, and many of them have listed status. Check out the National Trust’s full list here.

Whether the most you’ve ever written is a “to-do” list, or you’re authoring your umpteenth novel, if you live in or own a listed property, your home is one of your most important assets to protect, no matter how much it’s worth. Get in touch with the experts at Abode today to take the first step to insuring your home correctly.

Live with character. Insure with confidence.

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