A thing of beauty is a joy forever – John Keats

When you stand in the garden at the front of John Keats house in Wentworth Place Hampstead, you can truly understand how somebody could be inspired to write romantic poetry.

John Keats was born in 1795 on the 31^st of October; however his birthday was marked as the 29^th by his family - maybe they were just a little confused at the time. At the age of 8, he lost his father who died from a fractured skull and when he was 14 his mother died of tuberculosis. John was left in the custody of his grandmother. There was money in trust for Keats for when he turned 21 which he never applied for and he struggled financially.

The poet was an apprentice for a surgeon in his teens and lodged in an attic above the surgery.  After finishing his apprenticeship he registered as a medical student at Guy’s Hospital - now a part of Kings College.

                                                               Guys Hospital - Kings College

Keats first surviving poem, An imitation of Spencer, was written in 1814.  His work at the hospital was taking up a lot of his writing time and in 1816 he announced to his guardian that he would be a poet and not a surgeon. His poem, O Solitude, was the first to be printed and proof that Keats ambitions were valid.

The house at Wentworth Place

He moved into the house in Wentworth place in 1818. Keats wrote 5 of his 6 odes there and was said to have penned Ode to a Nightingale whist sitting in the garden under a plumb tree.

The garden where he wrote Ode to a Nightingale

Keats love interest Fanny Brawne moved into the house next door in 1819 and Keats gave her the love sonnet, Bright Star. He wrote hundreds of letters and notes to her and there is one on display in the Keats house. Unfortunately, there is no photography allowed in the house so I cannot show you the display, but maybe this will inspire a few  visitors.

John Keats passed away on the 23^rd of February 1821 and a quick calculation tells us that he was only 26 years of age.  He was living in Rome at the time and that is where the romantic poet is buried. He requested all letters from Fanny to be destroyed after his death - I wonder what she wrote.

Whether or not you like poetry, you can’t deny that the house and garden in Wentworth Place are beautiful and standing in that garden reminds me that - Once upon a time in London, a thing of beauty inspired John Keats to write poetry that will be a joy forever!

www.keatshouse.cityoflondon.gov.uk