Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Wellington Heath, Herefordshire
In 1809, when Elizabeth was a mere toddler, her family moved to Hope End, a Georgian mansion amid 500 acres of prime Herefordshire countryside. Her father was a wealthy slave-owner with plantations in Jamaica who built a huge Turkish-style pile and converted the original house into stables. A precocious child, Elizabeth was only 11 when she penned her epic poem The Battle of Marathon, written in Ancient Greek. Hope End would later prove the inspiration for perhaps her greatest work, Aurora Leigh. Barrett Browning campaigned against slavery, and when it was abolished in 1833, Hope End had to be sold to pay creditors. To explore the landscape the young poet loved, take the path from Wellington Heath around the west side of Raven Hill Wood and head for Coddington Vineyard via footpaths and the Herefordshire Trail. Keep on this waymarked path through Coddington village, past its fine church, and back southwards. From the trail there’s an excellent view of Hope End House (the original Georgian building is a private residence once more, the Turkish-style house having burnt down in 1910) and its walled garden. Elizabeth’s poem The
Lost Bower was set in the woods to your right. Stay on the Herefordshire Trail to finish your 3½-mile loop; refreshment can be had at The Farmers Arms.