Keats House facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Keats House |
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Keats House, Keats Grove (formerly John Street), pictured prior to reopening in 2009 after restoration. Adjoining on the right is the Heath Branch Public Library
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| Former names | Wentworth Place Wentworth Cottage Lawn Cottage Laurel Cottage Lawn Bank |
| General information | |
| Architectural style | Regency |
| Location | 10 Keats Grove, Hampstead, London, NW3 2RR |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Construction started | c. 1814–15 |
| Completed | c. 1815–16 |
| Cost | Restoration: c. £500,000 (£424,000 from Heritage Lottery Fund) |
| Designations | Grade I listed |
Keats House is a special museum that was once the home of the famous Romantic poet John Keats. It is located in Keats Grove, Hampstead, in north London. Before about 1915, the road was called John Street.
The building was originally two separate houses, known as "Wentworth Place". John Keats lived in one of these houses with his friend Charles Armitage Brown from December 1818 to May 1820. He then lived in the other half of the house with the Brawne family for a short time in 1820. These years were very important for Keats's writing. It is believed that his famous poem, "Ode to a Nightingale", was written under a plum tree in the garden.
While living here, Keats fell in love with Fanny Brawne, who lived next door. They even got engaged. Sadly, Keats became very sick with tuberculosis, a serious lung disease. Doctors told him to move to a warmer place. He left London in 1820 and passed away in Italy the next year. He never married.
Today, Keats House is a listed building with a Grade I rating. This means it's a very important historic building that needs to be protected.
Contents
The Story of Keats House
Keats House was built between 1814 and 1815. It was one of the first houses in the area known as the Lower Heath Quarter.
In October 1816, Charles Wentworth Dilke and his friend Charles Armitage Brown moved into the house. John Keats started visiting in 1817. He had met Dilke through a friend. In December 1818, Keats's brother Tom died from tuberculosis. Brown then invited Keats to live with him. Keats paid £5 per month, which was about £400 in today's money. He also paid half of the drink bill.
Dilke and his family moved out on April 3, 1819. They rented their half of the house to Mrs Brawne and her family. The Brawnes had briefly stayed in Brown's half of the house earlier.
Brown later sold his part of Wentworth Place in 1822 and moved to Italy.
After Keats's Death
After Keats died in 1821, his sister Fanny became friends with Fanny Brawne. Fanny Keats and her husband lived in what was Brown's half of the house from 1828 to 1831. Mrs Brawne died in 1829. By March 1830, the Brawne family had moved out of their part.
Many interesting people lived in the house during the 1800s. These included the painter Henry Courtney Selous and the retired actress Eliza Chester. Eliza Chester joined the two houses into one big home. She also added a dining room and a conservatory. Other residents included piano maker Charles Cadby and scientist Dr William Sharpey.
In 1896, a special blue plaque was put on the house. This plaque remembers Keats and his time there.
The house was lived in almost continuously until the 1900s. At one point, it was almost torn down. But people raised money to save it. It opened to the public as the Keats Memorial House on May 9, 1925.
In 2009, the museum put on a play called Keats in Hampstead. It was about Keats's life, his poems, and his love for Fanny Brawne.
The Keats Museum
The building next to Keats House used to be a kitchen garden and outhouses. Later, it was a coach house. On July 16, 1931, it opened as the 'Keats Museum and Branch Library'. It had a public library and a room to show items from Keats House. Some of these items were given by the family of Charles Armitage Brown.
The Heath Branch Public Library closed in March 2012. The building is now called "Ten Keats Grove". It reopened in April 2012. A library run by volunteers now uses part of the space.
Inside the museum, you can see special items. These include the engagement ring Keats gave to Fanny Brawne. You can also see a copy of Keats's death mask. The museum often holds poetry and writing events. It also has many educational programs.
In 2006, the house received money for a big restoration project. A lot of the money came from the Heritage Lottery Fund. Keats House closed for repairs on November 1, 2007. It reopened on July 24, 2009, looking beautiful and new.
To help support the house, the Keats Foundation was started in 2010.
The Garden: The Mulberry Tree
The garden has a Common or Black Mulberry tree. People believe it is from the 1600s. Mulberry trees are not native to Great Britain. They have been grown in England since the early 1500s. Keats House had other fruit trees, so the mulberry tree might have been part of an orchard.
If the tree is as old as people think, then John Keats would have seen it. However, he never wrote about this specific tree. He did mention a white mulberry tree in a letter to his friend John Hamilton Reynolds in 1818.
How to Find Keats House
Keats House is on the south side of Keats Grove. It is between St John's Church and South End Road in Hampstead, London NW3 2RR.
The closest train station is Hampstead Heath railway station on London Overground. The nearest underground stations are Belsize Park and Hampstead tube station. Both are on the Northern line. You can also take the red bus route 24 from central London. It stops at South End Green, which is very close to the house.
See also
- Keats-Shelley Memorial House, Rome, Italy
