Clouds Hill facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Clouds Hill |
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The front of Clouds Hill 2013
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| General information | |
| Type | Cottage |
| Location | near Wareham, Dorset |
| Coordinates | 50°43′03″N 2°15′04″W / 50.7176°N 2.2510°W |
| Completed | 19th century |
| Owner | National Trust |
Clouds Hill is a small, quiet cottage hidden away near Wareham in Dorset, England. It is famous for being the home of T. E. Lawrence, also known as "Lawrence of Arabia." Today, the National Trust looks after this special place, and you can visit it.
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Discovering Clouds Hill
Clouds Hill is a charming old cottage with brick walls and a tiled roof. It was likely built around the early 1800s, perhaps for a forester. Over the main door, there's a cool message carved in Greek: οὐ φροντὶς. This means "Why Worry," which was a motto T. E. Lawrence lived by.
Lawrence's Special Home
T. E. Lawrence first rented Clouds Hill in 1923. At the time, he was working nearby at Bovington Camp with the Tank Corps. He loved the cottage so much that he bought it in 1925. He called it his "earthly paradise." Lawrence wanted Clouds Hill to be a simple, peaceful place. He wrote that nothing in it should be "a care upon the world."
The cottage was quite simple. It didn't have electric lights. It had three main rooms: a place for eating, a room for books, and a music room. To keep the eating room warm, Lawrence had it lined with a special material. He also kept his food under glass covers. In the book room, he had a large leather sofa. Upstairs, in the music room, he enjoyed listening to his gramophone with a huge speaker.
In 1934, Lawrence, who had changed his name to Shaw, described his home in a letter. He said the cottage had two rooms: one upstairs for music and one downstairs for books. He also mentioned a small bath. For food, he would go to Bovington. When it was time to sleep, he would unroll a sleeping bag on the floor. He felt that everything about his cottage, both inside and out, was perfect.
Clouds Hill as a Museum
In 1935, Lawrence left the Royal Air Force and moved into Clouds Hill permanently. Just a few weeks later, he had a motorcycle accident near the cottage. He sadly passed away at the age of 46.
The year after his death, Lawrence's brother, A. W. Lawrence, gave Clouds Hill to the National Trust. Today, it is a museum dedicated to T. E. Lawrence. You can visit the cottage from March to early October. It looks much like it did when Lawrence lived there. You can see his original furniture and many of his belongings. The cottage helps visitors understand his interesting personality and his connections to the Middle East.
Lawrence of Arabia Trail
If you're interested in T. E. Lawrence, you can follow the "Lawrence of Arabia Trail." This walking path starts and ends at The Tank Museum in Bovington. It takes you past Clouds Hill and also to St Nicholas' Church in Moreton. This churchyard is where Lawrence was laid to rest.
Sleeping Bags and Famous Guests
T. E. Lawrence was known for his unique hospitality. If visitors stayed overnight at Clouds Hill, he had special sleeping bags for them. His own sleeping bag was marked meum, which means 'mine' in Latin. The sleeping bag for his guests was marked tuum, meaning 'yours'.
Many famous people stayed at Clouds Hill and used the tuum sleeping bag. These included the writer George Bernard Shaw, author E. M. Forster, and poet Robert Graves.
In 1965, the visitor's sleeping bag was stolen. This happened around the same time the movie Lawrence of Arabia was released. People thought the movie's popularity might have inspired the theft. But don't worry, in 2001, the sleeping bag was returned anonymously from Belgium!
See also
- Old Came Rectory
