Greta Hall facts for kids
Greta Hall is a famous old house in Keswick, England. It is located in the beautiful Lake District. This house is special because two well-known poets, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Robert Southey, once lived here.
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What is Greta Hall?
Greta Hall is a large house built in the late 1700s. Even though its official address is Main Street, it sits a bit away from the road on higher ground. Imagine a house with three floors, strong stone corners, and a fancy front door. This door has cool carved panels and a decorative frame. The house has many windows with 12 small glass panes each. Inside, you can find old flagstone floors and even an old carved fireplace from 1684 in what was once Robert Southey's living room.
Famous People Who Lived or Visited Here
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Greta Hall was home to many important writers.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge's Time
The poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge lived at Greta Hall with his family. He moved in on July 24, 1800, and stayed until 1803. During this time, he often visited his friend, the poet William Wordsworth, in Grasmere. Coleridge's daughter, Sara, was born right here at Greta Hall in 1802.
Robert Southey Makes it His Home
In 1803, Robert Southey and his wife came to stay with the Coleridges. When Coleridge left in 1804, Southey took over the house. He lived at Greta Hall for a very long time, until he passed away in 1843.
Many Famous Visitors
Greta Hall became a meeting place for many famous writers and artists. These included other "Lake Poets" like William Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy Wordsworth. Other well-known visitors were William Hazlitt, Lord Byron, John Keats, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and Sir Walter Scott. Even Charles Lamb and Mary Lamb visited in 1802. Later, Thomas De Quincey and John Ruskin also came to see the house.
A very special visitor was Pedro II, the Emperor of Brazil. In 1877, he and his wife, Empress Teresa Cristina, came to Keswick. They wanted to see places connected to Robert Southey. The Emperor admired Southey's book, "History of Brazil." They visited Southey's grave and then went to Greta Hall.
Greta Hall in Later Years
After the poets, Greta Hall had a new purpose.
As a Girls' School
From 1872 to 1887, Greta Hall was used as a girls' school. This means many young girls learned and lived there.
Part of Keswick School
In 1909, a man named Canon Rawnsley bought the house. He rented it to the headmaster of Keswick School. It became a boarding house for girls attending the school. In 1921, the school's governors bought Greta Hall. It continued to be a girls' boarding house until 1994.
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