Allan Bank facts for kids
Allan Bank is a large, two-story house located on a hill near Grasmere village in the beautiful Lake District of England. It's a special building, given a "Grade II listed" status, which means it's important and protected.
Allan Bank is most famous for being the home of the famous poet William Wordsworth from 1808 to 1811. Many other well-known people also lived there at different times, including his sister Dorothy Wordsworth, poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and writer Thomas De Quincey. Today, the house belongs to the National Trust, a charity that looks after historic places. It is now open for everyone to visit.
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Building Allan Bank
Allan Bank was built in 1805 by a lawyer from Liverpool named John Gregory Crump. It was designed in a style that some people called "bleakly Italianate," meaning it looked a bit like Italian buildings but without much decoration. The house was covered in a special plaster called stucco and had a roof made of slate.
Sadly, part of the house collapsed the year after it was built, in 1806. Mr. Crump had to rebuild it. Later, in 1834, an extension was added to the house, possibly designed by an architect named George Webster.
Wordsworth's Time at Allan Bank
When Allan Bank was first built, William Wordsworth was not happy about it at all. He was living nearby in a smaller house called Dove Cottage. He thought the new house was ugly and would ruin the peaceful, natural beauty of the Grasmere valley. He even called it a "temple of abomination"!
However, Wordsworth's family was growing, and Dove Cottage was becoming too small. Allan Bank was the only big house available to rent in Grasmere. So, he had to change his mind. He realized it would give his family and guests enough space. His children would also have plenty of room to play on the hills of Silver How and by Grasmere lake.
Wordsworth and his family moved into Allan Bank in May 1808. At first, they were happy to have their own rooms. But soon, they discovered a big problem: the chimneys smoked terribly on windy days! His sister Dorothy wrote that the house was "literally not habitable" because of the smoke. She even described a day when they had to go to bed in the middle of the day to stay warm because only one fireplace worked, and it smoked so much you couldn't see!
Workmen tried many times to fix the chimneys, but they never fully succeeded. Despite these issues, the Wordsworths hosted guests like Thomas De Quincey and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Coleridge even planned to live there permanently, but he moved out after two difficult years.
By 1810, the Wordsworths started looking for a new home. They found an old parsonage in Grasmere village and planned to move there once it was fixed up. Dorothy felt sad about leaving Allan Bank's amazing views of Grasmere and Easedale, calling the place "sweeter than paradise itself." They finally moved in June 1811.
During his time at Allan Bank, Wordsworth wrote important works like The Convention of Cintra and much of The Excursion. Coleridge also wrote his journal The Friend there.
Later Life of Allan Bank
After the Wordsworths left, the owner, Mr. Crump, sometimes lived in Allan Bank himself and sometimes rented it out. In 1831, the house was sold to new owners.
The famous educator and historian Thomas Arnold (father of poet Matthew Arnold) stayed at Allan Bank with his family in 1833. He was building a new house nearby and worked on his History of Rome at Allan Bank. He loved the inspiring view from his window while he wrote.
Later, the house was owned by the Dawson family for many years, from 1834 until 1911. In 1915, Canon Rawnsley bought Allan Bank. He was one of the people who helped start the National Trust. He moved into the house in 1917 and died there in 1920. He left Allan Bank to the National Trust, but his wife, Eleanor, was allowed to live there for the rest of her life. She stayed until 1959.
Allan Bank has faced challenges over the years. A fire in the 1950s destroyed a large part of the back of the house. Another serious fire happened in 2011. After this, the National Trust began a long project to restore the house. In March 2012, Allan Bank opened to the public for the very first time. The National Trust continues to work on the house, making it a wonderful place to visit.
Red Squirrels at Allan Bank
Cumbria, where Allan Bank is located, is one of the few places in England where you can still find red squirrels. The grounds of Allan Bank are especially known for them.
The National Trust staff at Allan Bank help protect these cute creatures. They even spend a lot of money each year on food for the squirrels. The Grasmere Red Squirrel Group also helps look after them. You can even find a sculpture of a red squirrel in the gardens!
See Also
Images for kids
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Allan Bank, a historic house in the Lake District.
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Wordsworth around 1807, when he decided to rent Allan Bank.
