Blake's Cottage stands in the village of

Felpham Felpham (, sometimes pronounced locally as ''Felf-fm'') is a village and civil parish in the Arun District of West Sussex, England. Although sometimes considered part of the urban area of greater Bognor Regis, it is a village and civil parish in ...

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ar ...

. The house dates from the 17th century. Its name commemorates the occupancy of the poet

William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual art of the Romantic Age. ...

, who lived in the cottage from 1800 to 1803. During his time at the house, Blake wrote the verses "

And did those feet in ancient time "And did those feet in ancient time" is a poem by William Blake from the preface to his epic '' Milton: A Poem in Two Books'', one of a collection of writings known as the Prophetic Books. The date of 1804 on the title page is probably when the ...

", the preface to his '' Milton: A Poem in Two Books'', which were later set to music as the hymn "Jerusalem". The cottage, now owned by a trust, is a

Grade II* listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

History and description

William Hayley William Hayley (9 November 174512 November 1820) was an English writer, best known as the biographer of his friend William Cowper. Biography Born at Chichester, he was sent to Eton College, Eton in 1757, and to Trinity Hall, Cambridge, in 176 ...

, poet and biographer of his friend

William Cowper William Cowper ( ; 26 November 1731 – 25 April 1800) was an English poet and Anglican hymnwriter. One of the most popular poets of his time, Cowper changed the direction of 18th-century nature poetry by writing of everyday life and scen ...

, began the construction of a house, called The Turret, at Felpham in 1798. In 1800, he invited

, and his wife

Catherine Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and other variations are feminine names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria. In the early Christ ...

, to the village to illustrate his own works. 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 hymn "Jerusalem". The cottage is now managed by the Blake's Cottage Trust which bought the building in 2015. The trust has sought to raise funds to undertake restoration of the cottage but this has proved challenging. In 2017 the trust appointed architects to undertake reconstruction and redevelopment though their plans have generated some local opposition. In November 2021 concerns regarding the fabric of the building saw the cottage being placed on the 2021

Heritage at Risk Register An annual ''Heritage at Risk Register'' is published by Historic England. The survey is used by national and local government, a wide range of individuals and heritage groups to establish the extent of risk and to help assess priorities for actio ...

. The trust aims to complete renovation of the cottage by 2027, the bicentenary of Blake's death. The original cottage dates from the 17th century. It is of two storeys and is constructed of cob,

flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and start fir ...

and brick with a

thatch Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge (''Cladium mariscus''), rushes, heather, or palm branches, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. Since the bulk of ...

ed roof. It is a

References

Sources

* {{cite book , first1= Elizabeth, last1=Williamson , first2=Tim , last2=Hudson , first3=Jeremy , last3=Musson , first4=Ian , last4=Nairn , authorlink3 = Jeremy Musson , authorlink4 = Ian Nairn , title = Sussex: West , url = https://www.worldcat.org/title/sussex-west/oclc/1104943526?referer=br&ht=edition , series =

The Buildings of England ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

, year = 2019 , origyear = 1965 , location = New Haven and London , publisher =

Yale University Press Yale University Press is the university press of Yale University. It was founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day, and became an official department of Yale University in 1961, but it remains financially and operationally autonomous. , Yale Universi ...

, isbn = 978-0-300-22521-1

External links

Virtual tour of Blake's Cottage

Blake’s Landscape near Felpham, showing the cottage to the right
Country houses in West Sussex Grade II* listed buildings in West Sussex William Blake