Wordsworth Grasmere's trust secures poet's final home at Rydal Mount

It has been a landmark year for the Wordsworth Trust, the charity behind Wordsworth Grasmere and Dove Cottage. In March 2026 it announced that it had acquired Rydal Mount, the house a short distance away where William Wordsworth spent the rest of his life.

William, his sister Dorothy and his wife Mary moved to Rydal Mount in 1813, and the poet lived there until his death in 1850. It was where the family spent much of their adult lives, making it an essential part of the Wordsworth story alongside Dove Cottage.

Since 1969 the house had been run by descendants of the poet. After a long period of falling visitor numbers and rising costs it was placed on the market for £2.5 million, raising concerns about its future.

The purchase was made possible with backing from the Julia Rausing Trust and the Charlotte Aitken Trust, with help from Arts Council England, the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the Garfield Weston Foundation, Westmorland and Furness Council and Lancaster University.

The trust has explained that there will be a period of closure while surveys, conservation assessments and planning for future operations take place, and it is working with funders and partners on a sustainable model for the house.

Meanwhile, life in Grasmere has been lively. Part of the film The History of Sound was shot inside Dove Cottage, and the film reached cinemas in January 2026. The trust has also announced a Gothic exhibition exploring the origins of Frankenstein.

In August 2026 it added to its collection by acquiring three letters written by Wordsworth at Christie's, continuing more than a century of care for the poet's manuscripts and possessions.

Securing Rydal Mount means two of the poet's homes are now cared for by the same organisation, giving the Trust a chance to tell the fuller story of Wordsworth's life in the valley, from his early years at Dove Cottage to his later decades as one of the most famous writers in the country.

Dove Cottage and the Wordsworth Grasmere museum remain open to visitors, with timed entry to the cottage. Tickets and news about Rydal Mount's future are available on the Wordsworth Trust website.