Percy Bysshe Shelley in Lynmouth

Percy Bysshe Shelley

Well, what can we say about Percy Bysshe Shelley.

He was one of the romantic poets, a philanderer, adulterer and a radical in both his political and social views. Shelley did not see fame during his lifetime, but recognition of his achievements in poetry grew steadily following his death. He was a key member of a close circle of visionary poets and writers that included Lord Byron, John Keats, Leigh Hunt, Thomas Love Peacock, and his second wife was Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein. And he stayed in Lynmouth.

Top of Shelley's cottage (possibly)

There has been much written on his private life (which, to be honest, was extraordinary to say the least and would put hairs on your chest if new to his story, so well worth a spot of research if you are interested), but he spent some time in beautiful North Devon, Lynmouth to be precise, with wife number one. When he and Harriet arrived in the Summer of 1812 from Wales to Lynmouth, he wrote that as they came over Countisbury Hill, they "saw before and beneath them a fairy scene - Little Lynmouth, then some thirty cottages, rose-clad and myrtle-clad, nestling at the foot of the hills. It was enough".

There is no actual confirmation as to where the Shelleys stayed in Lynmouth. What we do know is that he wrote: "The climate is so mild that myrtles of immense size twine up our cottage and roses bloom in the open air in winter." The favoured site was Blackmore's Lodgings (belonging to Mary, aunt of R D Blackmore of Lorna Doone fame), which later became Woodbine Villas. This building was eventually demolished and a new cottage near the site became known as Shelley's Cottage, which, as Shelley's Cottage Hotel, was rebuilt following damage in the 1952 flood disaster. Another theory is that they stayed in the top cottage on Mars Hill. Who knows. but either way, the Shelleys spent time here and enjoyed the beauty and tranquillity of the North Devon coastline. In the Rising Sun pub in Lynmouth on the wall in the corner, is one of his most famous poems A Bridal Song.

A Bridal Song

Interestingly, he is also known as an early radical leaflet dropper after putting revolutionary pamphlets in sealed wax boxes and corked bottles to be distributed by casting them into the sea and hoping they would be picked up when washed ashore. Shelley also had extracts from revolutionary Tom Paine’s Declaration of Rights printed on posters, which his man servant Dan fly posted in Barnstaple. Both he and the printer were arrested and fined. Shelley was unable to pay the fine and Dan was imprisoned. From then on Government spies kept a watch on Shelley and investigated his life and those of the people living with him.

What a life. He certainly lived it to the full!

For more information on the poets who spent time here, check out this website. http://www.exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk/Whats-Special/culture/literary-links/percey-bysshe-shelley