Keswick

We had a good deal more luck in finding Chestnut Cottage, outside the Lake District town of Keswick, which Shelley rented in 1811. The cottage was composed of two contiguous residences (the grey and white sections shown here)

and a storage/privy area (a bit can be seen here on the far right of the photograph below left; below right is taken from the rear of the building).

The white central section, occupied by the Shelleys, is now called Grisedale View and is available for holiday stays. The storage area, known as "Shelley Cottage" is a privately owned residence. The honeymoon couple enjoyed the lovely garden and the magnificent views of the Keswick valley and surrounding fells.

Scholars interested in the cottage may direct their inquiries to W.J. and A. Kinghorn, 3 Chestnut Hill House, Chestnut Hill, Keswick, Cumbria CA12 4lS (phone: 017687 75849).

Greystoke Castle

Roughly fifteen miles from Chestnut Cottage is Greystoke Castle. This was the home of Shelley’s friend and ally the Duke of Norfolk, who helped the young man engineer a temporary reconciliation with his father (and, perhaps more importantly, an allowance of two hundred pounds a year).

Shelley and Harriet spent a week visiting the Duke, and enjoyed themselves tremendously. Although very little of the present castle existed in Shelley’s day (there were two remodelings in 1836 and a Great Fire in 1868), he would have visited the ancient pele tower (above left) and rambled over the lovely grounds.