Coleridge'S Cottage

Coleridge's Cottage is a pair of houses located on Lime Street in Nether Stowey, with No 35 having a core dating back to the 17th century and No 37 being a contemporary byre that has been converted into a house with significant alterations in the mid-19th century. The exterior features colourwashed render, a plain pilaster on the left side, wide eaves on the left half, and a pantile roof, while the right half has a double Roman tile roof with a ridge that runs at right angles to the frontage. The buildings are two storeys high with a 2:1 bay arrangement, where the right bay is slightly set forward. The windows include 12-pane sash windows and a 16-pane sash window on the ground floor of the right bay, with the left two bays having flush-mounted windows. There are two door openings: No 35 has a six-panel door with a hood supported by brackets, and No 37 features a nine-panel door with a transom light above. A decorative stone plaque on No 35 bears the inscription: "HERE SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE MADE HIS HOME 1797-1800". Inside, the cottage has exposed ceiling beams and some restored 18th-century features, including cupboards and two fireplaces. Samuel Taylor Coleridge lived in this property from 1797 to 1800 when it was owned by Thomas Poole, who lived in Tom Poole's House nearby. During his time here, Coleridge wrote many of his major works, such as The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Kubla Khan, Christabel (Part 1), and The Three Graves. The cottage is also referenced in several of his poems, including To The Rev G Coleridge, lines 52-61; This Lime Tree Bower My Prison; Frost at Midnight; and Fears in Solitude, lines 221-226.