| Little Dunham lies five miles north-east of
Swaffham. William Cowper
moved to Norfolk from Buckinghamshire in 1795 at the
instigation of his cousin Rev. John Johnson. At the time,
Johnson lived in Dereham - where Cowper would end his
days.
While in Norfolk, Cowper's companion Mary Unwin
suffered a number of strokes and the strain of her
ailing health exacerbated Cowper's depression. To help
relieve this depression Johnson arranged for Cowper and
Mary to move to the seaside at
Mundesley - but the sea air proved an irritation to
the poet's eyes - and so the couple moved again to
Dunham Lodge. Cowper did not find the new accommodation
conducive and described it as that ' rambling, dreary
Lodge upon the Hill at Dunham'.
Dunham Lodge |
Supported
by Norfolk Tourism