Clare Cottage

Clare Cottage is a 17th century to early 18th century cottage located on the west side of Woodgate in Helpston. It is notable as the birthplace of the poet John Clare, who lived from 1793 to 1864. The cottage was extended at the south end in the 18th century and features whitewashed stone rubble with a thatched roof and gabled ends. It is a single storey building with an attic and has a five-window range, with modern two-light casements. There is a right-hand splayed bay also with a thatched roof, and a plank door that has a thatched hood above it. The cottage includes four eyebrow dormers and has stone end and ridge stacks, with the north stack heightened in brick. A stone tablet on the front bears the inscription, "In this cottage John Clare the poet was born 13 July 1793. This tablet is erected by the Peterborough Museum Society 1921." The building is listed as Grade II* due to its historical associations.