‘This morning gives us promise of a glorious day’.
We continue to receive an incredible response to the campaign to Save Rydal Mount and it is clear that both individuals and institutions with interest in the great poet locally, across the country and around the globe feel as strongly as we do that the house and gardens should remain open to visitors.
So we are hugely encouraged to pursue our overall goal to do everything possible to find either institutional or individual donors/investors (or a combination of the two) who share our vision and objectives as stated below.
Our Vision
To preserve Rydal Mount as a living, breathing cultural sanctuary available to all where the spirit of William Wordsworth — poet, environmentalist, and humanitarian — continues to inspire future generations and provide a valuable resource for the general public, historians and academics.
Our Mission
Rydal Mount, the cherished home of William Wordsworth for nearly four decades, stands today as a testament not only to a towering figure in English literature, but to a vision of humanity’s profound and sacred bond with nature. Now facing the risk of private ownership and potential loss to public access, we are determined to protect this national treasure and keep it open to the public.
The Save Rydal Mount campaign seeks to secure a buyer or group of benefactors committed to maintaining Rydal Mount as a public cultural heritage site, ensuring that Wordsworth’s home and contents, gardens, and enduring message remain open and accessible to all.
Our objectives are:
To Celebrate Poetry and Imagination
Rydal Mount must remain a place where visitors from around the world can connect with the life, work, and creative spirit of William Wordsworth — one of the founding figures of English Romanticism, whose poetry continues to champion the beauty of the natural world, the dignity of the human spirit, and the power of imagination.
To Honour Wordsworth’s Humanitarian and Environmental Vision
Wordsworth foresaw the transformative role of nature in nurturing compassion, resilience, and social responsibility. In an age when these values are more vital than ever, Rydal Mount must continue as a beacon for environmental stewardship, inner reflection, and humanitarian ideals.
To Preserve a Unique Historic and Cultural Landscape
Beyond the house itself, the exquisite gardens at Rydal Mount (designed by Wordsworth himself and lovingly preserved by his descendants) are integral to the site’s significance. Visitors must have the opportunity to walk the grounds and experience firsthand the landscape that shaped some of the most beautiful poetry ever written.
To Foster Education and Inspiration
We are committed to making Rydal Mount a place of learning and creativity, offering a refuge for poets, artists, scholars, students, environmentalists, and dreamers — all who seek nourishment from Wordsworth’s message of harmony between the human heart and the natural world.
Why It Matters
The Lake District, immortalised by Wordsworth as “a sort of national property,” was envisioned as a landscape to be cherished by all. Rydal Mount embodies this vision — a rare and irreplaceable meeting point of art, nature, and history. Losing public access to this sacred place would mean severing a vital link to our literary and cultural heritage.
Our Call to Action
Together, we can save Rydal Mount — for poetry, for the planet, for all who believe (like Wordsworth) that “the world is too much with us” and that there must always be spaces where the imagination, the soul, and nature are free to meet.
Join us.
Stand with Wordsworth.
Help us keep Rydal Mount alive.
Next steps
- To continue our outreach programme to build support for the campaign
- To reach out to potential institutional investors and high net worth individuals who may be interested in purchasing the property and sustaining the house, its contents and gardens in a way consistent with our vision.
Longer term
In the event that no institutions come forward as fully funded investors, to reach out to individual donors/investors (or a combination of institutions and individuals) who share our vision and aesthetic prepared to fund the purchase of the property
We are delighted that we already have initial indications of interest in funding this project from both institutional and private individuals and are committed to maintaining momentum towards achieving our goals. We value all your ideas and suggested contacts and would ask that you continue to share details of the campaign to possible new subscribers via the form on our website https://saverydalmount.org.uk/.
Thank you so much again for all your amazing support and we look forward to getting back to you with more news shortly. Together we hope we will be able to safeguard this extraordinary piece of literary history.