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Monks House
Novelist Virginia Woolf found peace and artistic inspiration in this modest country retreat.
Leonard and Virginia Woolf purchased Monk's House in 1919 as a rural getaway from their busy London lives. Charmed by the large garden and striking views across the River Ouse, the literary duo were persuaded to overlook the house's obvious flaws - it lacked both electricity and gas, and water had to be hauled from an outside well. The Woolf's divided their time between here and their London home until 1940 when they took up permanent residence in Lewes due to the London bombing raids.
The interior of Monk's House still bears the mark of Virginia Woolf and the artistic circle in which she moved. Nearly every room contains an original item of furniture or a painting created by a close friend or family member. The beautiful garden remains as the couple left it, with a large lawn for bowling, an orchard and a formally planted herbaceous area. Virginia chose the garden room for her writing, and it was here that her successful novels, To the Lighthouse, The Waves and Mrs Dalloway were completed. The room now houses extracts from her diary and a display of photographs which she took at Monk's House.
Services offered:
- Garden
- Historic building
