Thursday 12 November 2015

A Writer's Residence


On the 2nd of April 1936 a tall, gaunt, moustachioed man got off the train at Baldock and walked towards the village of Wallington. Nowadays the village is a pretty rural retreat, but back then the place was "on its uppers". One in three of its young men had been lost in the Great War, others had moved away as agriculture went through one of its periodic slumps and all that remained in the village were the elderly and the penniless. This situation suited the young man's purpose; he was a struggling writer who wanted quiet backwater in which to concentrate on his craft. 

The man's name was Eric Blair, though he later found fame as George Orwell. In 1936, although he'd had books published, he was not a wealthy man and was glad to rent a cottage for 7s 6d a week, even though he'd never set eyes on the property.



A modern visitor to Wallington, reading the neat little plaque put up by the council, might think that Orwell had found an idyllic nook in a rural paradise: nothing could be further from the truth. Back in those days the building was not thatched but had a corrugated iron roof which was very noisy when it rained. As Orwell wrote of the cottage: 

"You know what our cottage is like. It's bloody awful. Still it's more or less liveable......When there is sudden rain in winter the kitchen tends to flood, otherwise the house is passably dry. The living room fire, you may remember smokes....There is water laid on, but no hot, of course. There is a Calor Gas stove, which is expensive (the gas, I mean), but there is also a little oil oven that can be resuscitated."



Orwell's cottage had formerly been the village shop and he attempted to open the shop again, though it's doubtful that he ever made much money out of the venture. He also kept a goat for milk and hens for eggs, grew soft fruit in the garden and vegetables in a plot across the road. But most of his time he immersed himself in writing The Road To Wigan Pier; he had spent the two months prior to coming to Wallington researching in the mining areas of Yorkshire and Lancashire.



In June 1936 Orwell got married to Eileen O'Shaughnessy in the parish church at Wallington. An eye-witness said that on the wedding day she saw them walk up the hill to the church. He climbed up the bank, leapt over the gate and hurried up the path. Meanwhile Eileen continued around to the main church gate where he met her and carried her into the church.



The book most often associated with Orwell's time at Wallington is Animal Farm, though it was written after his time in the village. Somewhere I'm sure I've read that his wife Eileen, a child psychologist, was in the habit of making up stories about animals for her own amusement, giving them complex human characteristics.

The reason that people make the connection is clear - the book is based at Manor Farm, Willingdon, while just down the road from the cottage stood Manor Farm, Wallington. The great barn which is mentioned in the book is clearly modelled on the barn at the real farm, which can be seen in the picture below....




Orwell said this about the origins of the book:
"I saw a little boy, perhaps ten years old, driving a huge carthorse along a narrow path, whipping it whenever it tried to turn. It struck me that if only such animals became aware of their strength we should have no power over them, and that men exploit animals in much the same way as the rich exploit the proletariat."



At the time when Orwell wrote the book, during World War II, no one would publish the work - the Allies needed the help of Stalin to stand any chance of winning the war and a book satirising the Communist regime was not considered to be in the nation's interest.



There are still a few animals to be seen around Wallington though most of the land is arable these days.



Right next to Orwell's cottage is this post box with its George V cipher. As King George died in 1936 this would be the box in which George Orwell posted his letters while he lived in the village.



Orwell kept a connection with the cottage till the mid 1940s and, although he sub-let it to friends who'd had their London home bombed, he came for occasional visits.

"At Wallington. Crocuses out everywhere, a few wallflowers budding, snowdrops just at their best. Couples of hares sitting about in the winter wheat and gazing at one another. Now and again in this war, at intervals of months, you get your nose above water for a few moments and notice that the earth is still going round the sun" - from Orwell's diary, March 1941.


Take care.


(the colour photos are mine, while the sepia ones have been "borrowed" from elsewhere).


22 comments:

  1. As usual John - fascinating and a mine of information.

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  2. "...in the village were the elderly and the penniless." Hey, that's where I live! This was an interesting post to read. Thanks for sharing the history, John.

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  3. That's a really interesting read! I love the story of the boy and the horse as an inspiration for Animal Farm.

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  4. Very interesting bit of history!

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  5. That is a wonderful tribute to the writer George Orwell! At the beginning I didn't know about whom you are going to write and then suddenly a spark - about Orwell. You took fantastic pictures which support your story so beautifully.

    I smiled to a cow; like her a lot. Great presentation of life story of this great writer with amazing photography!

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  6. Interesting post about George Orwell, and the photos really help us to imagine his life. It led me to look him up on Wiki. His life may have been fairly short, but he certainly packed a lot in - lots of travelling and a wide range of experiences.

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  7. This just looks like a place for great writing! But it is hard to imagine George Orwell in his yet-to-be wildly successful phase. Flooding kitchen? Wow...puts our modern lives in perspective!

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  8. Englisg village is realy charming love from Poland

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  9. Very interesting post John and lovely photos. I bet the cottage is gorgeous today, it sounded dreadful when he was living there!

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  10. A very interesting post, filled with lovely pictures and things I didn't know - thanks! And that last quite is especially good...where did he write that, do you know?

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  11. Such an interesting history. I love knowing that Orwell's wife was a child psychologist and perhaps influenced his creativity in writing Animal Farm. A wonderful post!

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  12. Fascinating history and I love that quote at the end.

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  13. Interesting post...really enjoyed the history.

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  14. Great quote. It certainly is a picturesque place now.

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  15. Great post with a bit of colorful history.

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  16. Hi John - fascinating ... I hadn't known that about Orwell .. I wonder if it was his wife that inspired his story telling in animal farm - sounds like it. Cheers Hilary

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  17. Thanks for this about Orwell! Very interesting!

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  18. Animal Farm is one of my favorite books (and also movie). Was introduced to it in my teens. The village photos are charming. Glad you included the sepia shot as I like to see the "before." -- barbara

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  19. I learned a lot from your post. Thanks

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  20. A pretty quiet rural village ... perfect for George Orwell to settle down to write. I've never read the book "Animal Farm" so must take a peek in our local library.

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  21. I (along with many others) have read Animal Farm and 1984 - but actually knew NOTHING about George Orwell! It's intriguing that someone who lived what appears to be a simple rural lifestyle could write about such dysfunctional societies - maybe that means there's more to Wallington than meets the eye!

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Thanks for taking the time to comment. I'll try to answer any questions via a comment or e-mail within the next day or two (no hard questions, please!).