Homes and Haunts: Memorialising Romantic Writers A thesis submitted to The University of Manchester for the degree of PhD in the Faculty of Humanities 2011 James Henry Pardoe School of Arts, Histories and Cultures CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES Page 4 ABBREVIATIONS Page 6 ABSTRACT Page 7 DECLARATION Page 8 COPYRIGHT STATEMENT Page 9 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Page 10 DEDICATION Page 12 INTRODUCTION: Page 13 Homes and Haunts of the Romantic Age Page 13 Thesis Aims Page 20 Methodology and Sources Page 24 Thesis Structure Page 27 CHAPTER ONE: Page 31 CRITICAL CONTEXTS Page 31 CHAPTER TWO: Page 49 ABBOTSFORD HOUSE Page 49 Introduction Page 49 Scott‟s House: Scott, The Borders & Abbotsford 1773-1832 Page 51 „Waverley in Stone‟: Scott‟s Memorial 1832-2004 Page 62 The House in the Early Twenty-First Century: The Abbotsford Trust 2004-2007 Page 86 Conclusion Page 99 CHAPTER THREE: Page103 NEWSTEAD ABBEY Page 103 Introduction Page 103 The „Byron House‟: to 1817 Page 105 The „Byronic House‟: 1817-1931 Page 118 2 From Private House to Public Museum: 1931-2002 Page 134 The House in the Twenty-First Century: a Result of an Historical Process Page 144 Conclusion Page 156 CHAPTER FOUR: Page 159 KEATS HOUSE & THE KEATS-SHELLEY MEMORIAL HOUSE Page 159 Introduction Page 159 Keats House Page 162 A Home of Keats Becomes Keats House and Memorial: 1818-1997 Page 162 Keats House and the City of London: 1997-2007 Page 177 Keats-Shelley Memorial House Page 190 Piazza di Spagna 26 – KSMH: 1903-1997 Page 190 KSMH: 1997-2006 Page 205 Conclusions Page 214 CONCLUSION Page 218 FIGURES Page 225 BIBLIOGRAPHY Page 258 Manuscripts Page 258 Printed Primary Sources Page 260 Interviews Page 263 Houses Page 263 Other Primary Sources Page 264 Secondary Sources Page 265 Word Count: 74,116 3 LIST OF FIGURES 1. Location Map of Abbotsford. Page 226 2. Abbotsford, view of South Court. Page 226 3. Plan of Abbotsford, post 1825. Page 227 4. Abbotsford, Entrance Hall. Page 227 5. Abbotsford, Byron Urn. Page 228 6. Abbotsford, Library East End. Page 228 7. Abbotsford, Study doorway to Scott‟s private quarters. Page 229 8. Abbotsford, Scott‟s writing desk and chair. Page 229 9. Abbotsford, Study. Page 230 10. Plan of Abbotsford, 1897. Page 230 11. Drawing of Abbotsford from Lockhart‟s biography of Scott. Page 231 12. Bronze death mask of Scott. Page 231 13. Abbotsford, Byron Urn in Dining-Room. Page 232 14. Abbotsford, Drawing-Room. Page 232 15. Abbotsford, Drawing-Room with Byron Urn. Page 233 16. Abbotsford, Dining-Room alcove where Scott died. Page 233 17. Abbotsford, contents of Scott‟s writing desk. Page 234 18. Abbotsford, Hardie painting. Page 234 19. Newstead, Ground Floor Plan. Page 235 20. Newstead, First Floor Plan. Page 235 21. Newstead, Cloister Garth. Page 236 22. Newstead, Byron‟s Bedroom. Page 236 23. Newstead, Virgin and Child. Page 237 24. Newstead, West Front 1820. Page 237 25. Newstead, West Front 1859. Page 238 26. Newstead, Cloister Garth early nineteenth century. Page 238 27. Newstead, the Chapel. Page 239 28. Newstead, Byron‟s Study. Page 239 29. Newstead, Phillips Portrait of Byron c.1813. Page 240 30. Newstead, Great Hall. Page 240 31. Newstead, Great Hall c.1870s. Page 241 32. Newstead, watercolour of Library c.1850s. Page 241 33. Newstead, Library post-1988. Page 242 34. Newstead, Byron‟s Dining-Room. Page 242 35. Newstead, the Salon. Page 243 36. Keats House, north elevation 1815. Page 243 37. Keats House Plan, 1980 guidebook. Page 244 38. Keats House, Severn painting of Keats c.1845. Page 245 39. Keats House, Royal Society of Arts Plaque. Page 245 40. Keats House, North view 1920s. Page 246 41. Keats House, locket containing lock of Keats‟s hair. Page 246 42. Keats House, the Keats Sitting-Room. Page 247 43. Keats House, Severn Portrait of Keats in Sitting-Room. Page 247 44. Keats House, Gold Brooch containing Keats‟s hair. Page 248 45. Keats House, Keats‟s Inkstand. Page 248 46. Keats House, the Chester Room. Page 249 47. Keats House, Brown‟s Sitting-Room. Page 249 48. Keats House, Brown‟s Bedroom. Page 250 4 49. Keats House, Keats‟s Bedroom. Page 250 50. Keats House, Entrance Gate. Page 251 51. Keats House, North View. Page 251 52. KSMH, Piazza di Spagna engraving by G.B. Falda. Page 252 53. KSMH, front view and Barcaccia 1935. Page 252 54. KSMH, Portrait of Keats on his death-bed by Severn 1821. Page 253 55. KSMH, Exterior of house c.1909. Page 253 56. KSMH, the Salone 2005. Page 254 57. KSMH, Locks of hair – Shelley, Keats, Leigh Hunt. Page 254 58. KSMH, Floor Plan. Page 255 59. KSMH, Exterior of house 2003. Page 256 60. KSMH, the Keats Room. Page 257 5 ABBREVIATIONS GLRO Greater London Record Office KSMA Keats-Shelley Memorial Association LMA London Metropolitan Archives NAO Nottinghamshire Archives Office NGR National Grid Reference NMR National Monuments Record NMS Nottingham Museum Service 6 The University of Manchester James Henry Pardoe PhD Homes and Haunts: Memorialising Romantic Writers 2011 ABSTRACT This thesis takes an historical approach to four literary houses open to the public today, associated with writers of the Romantic Age: Abbotsford House (Sir Walter Scott), Newstead Abbey (Lord Byron), Keats House (John Keats), and the Keats-Shelley Memorial House (John Keats and Percy Bysshe Shelley). At the heart of this study are questions of how and why houses have had a role in understanding the lives and works of famous writers. The different histories of these houses over the past two centuries point to a comparative framework for analysis. Fluctuations in the popularity of their associated writers are intimately connected with the manner in which they have been represented and received. For example, Scott and Byron were popular for much of the nineteenth century, with large numbers of people seeking out their homes. With Keats and Shelley their critical acclaim did not gain wide acknowledgement until the later decades of the nineteenth century. In parallel, the houses associated with their lives did not gain popular note until the twentieth century. One of the principal aims of this thesis is to show how the post-writer histories impact on the literary houses today. Many of the works within the literary house genre highlight the significance of the link between writers and their audiences. These links are created through the establishment of the houses as sites of remembrance, as memorials, and as sensory markers. However, whereas commentators concentrate on the links being direct, this study shows that the association is based on narratives filtered through those who were subsequently responsible for the houses. Consequently, the interpretations prevalent at the houses in the twenty-first century are the result of a long history based on the writers, and on what was considered their significance by others over approximately 200 years. This thesis also shows how visitor expectations have shaped current presentations, and how visitors‟ perception of an „aura‟ of the associated writers at these houses influenced the way they have been interpreted. „Aura‟ is used to identify the emotional response by people to certain locations or objects where they feel a „spirit‟ or the „sense‟ of something from the past. Bruno Latour and Adam Lowe‟s conceptualisation is used to show how „aura‟ is not inherent in objects from the past but is activated by the reaction of an audience, and thus can migrate from originals to copies. My research has found that each of the four houses is different in terms of its meaning to the writer, its intrinsic merit beyond the writer, its subsequent ownership and presentation history, and its funding context. Nevertheless, key similarities between them can be determined: the post-writer history still impacts today, visitor expectations over time have shaped current presentation, and visitors seek „aura‟, whether or not there are physical remains associated with the writer. However, this aura is dependent on whether the houses in the twenty-first century can „speak‟ to their audiences. 7 DECLARATION I declare that no portion of the work referred to in this thesis has been submitted in support of an application for another degree or qualification of this or any other university or other institute of learning. 8 COPYRIGHT STATEMENT i. The author of this thesis (including any appendices and /or schedules to this thesis) owns certain copyright or related rights in it (the “Copyright”) and he has given The University of Manchester certain rights to use such Copyright, including for administrative purposes. ii. Copies of this thesis, either in full or in extracts and whether in hard or electronic copy, may be made only in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (as amended) and regulations issued under it or, where appropriate, in accordance with licensing agreements which the University has from time to time. This page must form part of any such copies made. iii. The ownership of certain Copyright, patents, designs, trade marks and other intellectual property (the “Intellectual Property”) and any reproductions of copyright works in the thesis, for example graphs and tables (“Reproductions”), which may be described in this thesis, may not be owned by the author and may be owned by third parties. Such Intellectual Property and Reproductions cannot and must not be made available for use without the prior written permission of the owner(s) of the relevant Intellectual Property and/or Reproductions. iv. Further information on the conditions under which disclosure, publication and commercialisation of this thesis, the Copyright and any Intellectual Property and/or Reproductions described in it may take place is available in the University IP Policy (see http://documents.manchester.ac.uk/DocuInfo.aspx?DocID=487), in any relevant Thesis restriction declarations deposited in the University Library, The University Library‟s regulations (see http://www.manchester.ac.uk/library/aboutus/regulations) and in The University‟s policy on Presentation of Theses.