John Clare Cottage

John Clare Cottage is a cottage and literary museum in Helpston, Peterborough, United Kingdom. The cottage was the birthplace of English poet John Clare (1793-1864).

John Clare Cottage
General information
Address12 Woodgate
Town or cityHelpston
Coordinates52.6342°N 0.3446°W / 52.6342; -0.3446
Named forJohn Clare
OwnerJohn Clare Trust
Website
http://www.clarecottage.org/

The thatched Grade II* cottage[1] at 12 Woodgate, Helpston, originally consisted of five smaller tenement buildings, that were joined into a single structure at a later date.[2]

The cottage was bought by the John Clare Trust in 2005.[3] In May 2007, the Trust gained £1.27 million of funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund[4]and commissioned Jefferson Sheard Architects to create a new landscape design and Visitor Centre, including a cafe, shop and exhibition space. The Cottage was restored using traditional building methods and is open to the public.

In 2013 the John Clare Trust received a further grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund to help preserve the building[5] and provide educational activities for young people visiting the cottage.[6]

The garden behind the cottage is maintained by volunteers, and planted with varieties which would have been seen in Clare's time.[3]

The John Clare Cottage forms part of the Fens Museum Partnership, along with Peterborough Museum and Flag Fen.[7]

  • Clare Cottage in 2018
  • Statue of John Clare
  • Cottage gardens
  • Plaque erected by the Peterborough Museum Society 1921

References
  1. Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1331603)". National Heritage List for England.
  2. www.philbegnett.com (30 March 2008). "Renovation of John Clare Cottage". Youtube. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
  3. "Home". Clare cottage. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
  4. Caines, Matthew (7 May 2013). "Arts head: Sara Blair-Manning, the John Clare Trust and Cottage". the Guardian. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
  5. "Buildings given £1m lottery funding". BBC News. 14 June 2013. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
  6. Stephen Briggs, "Peterborough heritage sites gets big lottery boost", Peterborough Telegraph, 13 June 2013.
  7. "Our Museums". Fens Museums Partnership. Archived from the original on 19 October 2016. Retrieved 22 July 2018.

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