William Wordsworth - SANT/BEQ/4/12/210
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William Wordsworth (1770-1850)

William Wordsworth was born on 7 April 1770 in Cockermouth, Cumbria. He was of the first generation of Romantic poets. As a young man he developed a love of nature, a theme reflected in many of his poems. Wordsworth explored the belief that nature can have an impact on our emotions and spiritual lives. An important friendship with Samuel Taylor Coleridge made possible their joint authorship of Lyrical Ballads in 1798.

He was extremely close to his sister Dorothy and in 1779 they moved to Dove Cottage in Grasmere. This was his home until 1808, the years of his supreme work as a poet. His most famous poem, ‘I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud’, was written during his time here. In 1802 he married Mary Hutchinson and they had 5 children. He already had one illegitimate child born in 1792 from a love affair with Annette Vallon. Appointed distributor of stamps for Westmorland in 1813, he became financially secure and moved to his final and grandest house, Rydal Mount.

In 1843 Wordsworth became Poet Laureate. He died on 23 April 1850 and was buried in Grasmere churchyard. His semi-autobiographical poem, The Prelude , was published after his death.