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Historic Accommodation In Devon: Shelley's

The eighteenth century poet Percy Shelley had been a brilliant schoolboy at Syon House and Eton, but was expelled from Oxford for refusing to admit that he had written an essay called The Necessity of Atheism. He was the heir to a baronetcy, but threw away his inheritance when he fell out with his father. His father told young Shelley that any number of illegitimate children would be supported, but an unsuitable marriage would not be tolerated. The rebellious Shelley then promptly married Harriet Westbrook, a friend of his sisters', and a daughter of an innkeeper. The couple, along with a small group of friends then ran off, to the Lake District, Ireland, and then to Lynmouth, where they lived at what is now known as Shelley's Hotel, then known as Mrs Hooper's Lodgings.

Shelley spent his time in Lynmouth writing his early poem, Queen Mab, and distributing radical leaflets. Rowing out from Lynmouth he would send leaflets out into the world in bottles and on home made boats. They would also be launched from the hill top at dusk suspended from fire balloons....

 

Bright ball of flame that through the gloom of even

Silently takest thine aetherial way,

And with surpassing glory dimn'st each ray

Twinkling amid the blue depths of Heaven

(Sonnet To A Balloon Laden With Knowledge)

 

A servant named Dan was sent to distribute pamphlets in nearby Barnstable, where the poor man was arrested and sentenced to six months imprisonment. Failing to obtain Dan's release, Shelley did what he could by paying fifteen shillings a week to ease prison conditions for his servant.

The hotel today is award winning and highly respected. Shelley's is situated in Exmoor National Park, and makes an excellent base for exploring Devon and the south west of England.

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