Keats House is the beautiful Regency villa where Romantic poet John Keats found inspiration, friendship, and love.
John Keats was born in 1795 and began to write poetry from the age of 18.
Encouraged by his school friend, Charles Cowden Clarke, Keats abandoned his profession as an apothecary surgeon to concentrate on poetry full time. Heavily influenced by Shakespeare and Milton, Keats became one of the principal poets of the English Romantic movement along with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley.
Keats House, or Wentworth Place as it was then known, was built from 1814 to 1816 by William Woods, a local builder. It was originally two separate homes, first occupied by Charles Wentworth Dilke and his family, while the smaller, eastern side was occupied by Charles Brown. In December 1818, Keats came to live in Brown’s side of the house, staying here for just 17 months before travelling to Italy where he died.
Today, Keats House is a registered charity, provided by the City of London Corporation as part of its contribution to the cultural life of London and the nation.
