A George III oak tub chair, late 18th/early 19th century

According to family tradition, this chair belonged to the poet William Wordsworth (1770-1850).

Inventory of the contents of Belle Isle, Windermere, made by Messrs J R Mitchell and Sons, auctioneers & valuers of Cockermouth, March 1930, possibly the 'Tub Chair in Leather' listed in the Dining Room, p. 2 (Cumbria Archives, DCU/1/218);
E. W. Hodge, ‘Belle Isle – II, Westmorland’, Country Life, 10 August 1940, p. 124, fig. 14.

Wordsworth was a frequent visitor to Belle Isle on Lake Windermere, no doubt drawn to the picturesque setting, describing it as 'the first house that was built in the Lake District for the sake of the beauty of the country'. The two families certainly had a close ties. The eldest granddaughter of John Christian Curwen, Isabella, married Wordsworth's son, the Rev. William Wordsworth, in 1832, and numerous letters and personal notes shared between the families survive in the Curwen archive.