A PERFECT PAD FOR LOVERS OF POETRY

W

e have a long tradition of looking at rural England through rose tinted glasses. It’s easy to understand why, as urban residents dodge parking tickets and bemoan pollution.

The same was happening during the late 19th century and with poets like AE Housman.

His most famous work, A Shropshire Lad, is a cycle of more than 60 poems written while he was living and working in London as an academic.

It has been continuously in print since it was selfpublished in 1896. Written before he had even visited Shropshire, the poems appealed hugely to soot-soaked Victorians and Edwardians.

Housman wrote the stanzas while living in the north London suburb of Hampstead Village in a substantial property that was the first of his former homes to get a Blue Plaque.

Byron Cottage is now for sale. He lived at the address between 1885 and 1905 while studying and working at University College London.

It’s been modernised, but Housman would recognise its layout, which includes five bedrooms, three bathrooms, a kitchen/diner and many period features.

“The addition of the blue plaque and the history surrounding Housman and his time at the property really adds an element of prestige,” says agent James Diaper.

It’s for sale through Savills (020 7472 5000) for £2.5m.