William Wordsworth is perhaps the most famous historical person associated with the Lake District. He was born in Cockermouth in 1770 and spent most of his childhood in Cockermouth and Penrith. William attended school for eight years in Hawkeshead from 1779 - he stayed with Ann Tyson in Hawkeshead - and then went on to St John's College Cambridge.

William and his sister Dorothy subsequently met Samuel Taylor Coleridge and together they explored the Lake District. They loved the area so much that in 1799 William and Mary moved into Dove Cottage in Grasmere and in 1802 William married Mary Hutchinson, whom he had known since childhood. As the family expanded, they moved to Allan bank in Grasmere in 1808 and subsequently to Rydal Mount in 1813 where they stayed until William died in 1850. Mary stayed on in Rydal Mount until she died in 1859. They are both buried in St Oswalds Church in Grasmere which has become one of the most visited literary shrines in the world. All of the main sites associated with Wordsworth are open to the public and there is a rich heritage of memorabilia, documents etc available at these sites.

For more information on the Wordsworths, please follows these links:

www.cumbria-calling.com/wordsworth.htm

www.holiday-lakeland.co.uk/reivers/wilword.htm

www.rydalmount.co.uk/

www.wordsworth.org.uk

www.visitcumbria.com/amb/dovecott.htm