23 May 2015

T. E. Lawrence at Clouds Hill, Dorset

The rear of Clouds Hill. Originally this was probably an early nineteenth century forester's cottage. T. E. Lawrence first rented it in 1923 when he was stationed at Bovington Camp with the Tank Corps, and he bought it two years later. In 1935 he left the RAF and lived here, although he died shortly after, at 46, several days after a motor cycle accident. The cottage was very primitive, with no kitchen, no electricity and no toilet.

The logo above the entrance door reads 'οὐ φροντὶς': 'Why Worry'.

I don't know the significance of the door knocker.

In Lawrence's reading room-cum-bedroom. His specially designed chair indicates his small (5ft 5 inches) height, and of note is his reading stand in the centre.

Lawrence's bathroom.

Upstairs in the Music Room is a bust of Lawrence by Eric Kennington (1926).

The bunk room (also called the store room), where a number of Lawrence's guests stayed. The walls are lined with aluminium to keep cool and prevent condensation.

Lawrence had a ship's port hole fitted here.

Outside, the garage which housed Lawrence's Brough Superior motor cycle is now an exhibition room dedicated to the writer. In the year after his death, his brother A. W. Lawrence gave Clouds Hill to the National Trust.

My other T. E. Lawrence posts:

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T. E. Lawrence in Moreton, Dorset
T. E. Lawrence in Lincoln

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