Blake Society urges support for 'Jerusalem' cottage buy

The Blake Society is asking people to donate funds via text to help buy the cottage William Blake lived in, as it races to meet a deadline later this week.

Blake’s cottage in Felpham, on the Sussex coast, is the location where he wrote the words for the hymn "Jerusalem". The charity has been given the legal option to purchase the cottage and has already raised £92,000, but must reach its goal of £520,000 by 28th November.  

The Blake Society plans to turn the cottage into a home for artists, authors, thinkers and “anyone who shares with Blake a belief that imagination is Britain’s gift and duty to the world”.

The 28th November also marks the poet's birthday.

Tim Heath, chair of The Blake Society, said: “We’re struggling to raise the money. We have a short period of time to raise money due to the terms of the legal option. We don’t have time to go to the main funding bodies so we thought we’d try to raise money quickly through social media on Blake’s birthday.” He added: “We’re asking for people to not just donate a pound, but to also tell their friends and spread the word. Blake is unusual in our culture in that he’s everywhere and nowhere – he’s had great lasting influence but has no home here."

The Blake Society’s president is Philip Pullman and fellow authors Neil Gaiman and Alan Moore are patrons.

To donate to the fund, text FEET11 £1 (or any other amount you wish to donate from £1 to £5, or £10) to 70070. Please leave a space before the £. The whole amount of every donation will be passed on to the registered charity without deduction.

Meanwhile Tate Publishing has released two new digital products exploring the life and works of the poet and artist to coincide with a Blake exhibition at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford.

Tate will publish fixed-format iBook and e-book editions of Blake’s Songs of Innocence and of Experience, including fully zoomable images, an introduction by art historian Richard Holmes and audio narration by author Adam Mars-Jones. In addition, Tate Gallery is releasing William Blake’s London, an app that takes users on a tour of hotspots in the city related to Blake. The app also traces his influence on artists, musicians and writers today with new content unlocked at each location including music inspired by Blake from Billy Bragg, Beth Orton, Kate Tempest and John Tavener.

The app is free on the Apple store, while the iBook is available on the iBook store for £9.99 and as an e-book from e-tailers for the same price.