Wordsworth's Dove Cottage to reopen in April after £6.2m restoration

William Wordsworth’s Dove Cottage will reopen on 7th April as part of a year-long celebration marking the 250th anniversary of the poet's birth.

The opening will be followed by a summer reopening of the museum. It comes after a £6.2m transformation of the Grasmere site by The Wordsworth Trust, supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

It forms part of the Reimagining Wordsworth series of events and will see the visitor experience rebranded as Wordsworth Grasmere.

Changes at Dove Cottage include the restoration of its interiors, a displayed facsimile of Dorothy Wordsworth’s Grasmere Journal and a re-creation of the poet’s garden. There is also a new learning space, listening posts, and a woodland space with fresh walking trails.

The modified museum will feature an expanded and modernised collection of manuscripts, books and fine art, alongside new galleries exploring the writer’s life and a rooftop viewing station.

Wordsworth Trust director Michael McGregor said: "We are excited to welcome visitors to Wordsworth Grasmere in 2020 to celebrate the 250th birthday of one of our greatest poets. Inspired by Wordsworth‚Äôs own wish that his poetry ‘live and do good‚Äô, Reimagining Wordsworth will also celebrate the enduring significance and relevance of the poet in fresh and exciting ways. We look forward to welcoming diverse audiences from across the world to Wordsworth Grasmere to experience, in Wordsworth‚Äôs words: ‘The one sensation that is here‚Äô."