The National Trust’s director general said it was likely that Cockermouth’s Wordsworth House would open for reduced hours next year as its future is decided.
The attraction, which was gifted to the organisation by townsfolk in the 1930s, is under review by the National Trust as it battles to save money nationally.
William Wordsworth’s childhood home runs at a six-figure loss each year, the National Trust said, and it was exploring new uses for the space.
It launched a consultation last month.
Cockermouth and District Civic Trust, which is concerned about the house’s future, wrote to the organisation’s director general, Hilary McGrady.
She replied with a personal assurance that the house was not closing, but the National Trust needed to change its mode of operation to reduce costs across the organisation.
Cockermouth and District Civic Trust said, in a post on social media, that Ms McGrady told them: “During 2026, whilst the consultation is in progress, the National Trust proposes to offer a reduced opening to gain an early saving.
“This will see the garden taking a more central role, perhaps opening 2 to 3 times per week, potentially keeping the house closed for this season.”
The civic trust said: “We have expressed our disappointment in the potential keeping of the house closed for 2026, seeing this as detrimental to the town and potentially a loss of staff and volunteer expertise for future years.”
However, Cumbria Crack asked the National Trust today about its plans for 2026 and was told by a spokesman: “Our proposals aim to increase access, share the Wordsworth story more widely, and explore new uses for the space.
“Proposals would see the garden, which is the most popular area, take on a more central role for visitors next year while we liaise with the town council, chamber of commerce, businesses, residents and visitors to shape a sustainable, community-focused future for the house, with a new model in place by 2027.
“Any proposed changes to operations, including opening hours, are subject to our ongoing consultation.”
The National Trust has previously said if the attraction remained open as a pay to enter experience it would ‘continue to lose significant amounts of charitable money’.
We asked how much money the attraction was bringing in compared to what it was losing each year.
A National Trust spokesman said: “The house is currently running at a six-figure loss each year.
“With increased financial pressures facing the trust it makes sense to review how we can get the most charitable benefit from it and create a sustainable future for the property.”
We asked if the trust would share the actual figures with us and did not get a reply.
The trust had also originally said visitor numbers at the house were low, but did not reveal how many people visited the house each year.
We asked the trust for the visitor numbers to Wordsworth House each year.
The National Trust spokesman said: “We’ve seen a 30% decline in visitors to Wordsworth House and Garden since the pandemic, whereas National Trust visitor numbers are increasing overall.”
We asked the National Trust what the actual visitor numbers were for Wordsworth House and did not get a reply.
The National Trust also declined to share with Cumbria Crack the number of staff employed at Wordsworth House.
The spokesman added: “During this period of consultation we will not be discussing staff numbers at individual sites or going into detail about the proposals.
“Our priority is to support the staff affected by this process.”
However, the National Trust did confirm that a voluntary redundancy scheme was open to affected staff as part of the consultation.
Markus Campbell-Savours, Penrith & Solway MP, launched a petition to save the house’s future.
The petition calls on the National Trust to halt any plans that would reduce public access to the house and to work with the community to develop a sustainable model that honours its full historical and cultural significance.
The petition can be signed here
We also asked how the National Trust’s money-saving plans would affect its other properties and attractions in Cumbria.
Cumbria Crack was directed to look at the National Trust’s general statement about its restructure for a sustainable future, which does not make specific reference to its work in the region.
It began a 45-day consultation with staff to find savings of £26 million. The organisation said it would lead to an estimated 6% reduction in jobs nationally.
It released a statement on July 11 about the proposals.
Cockermouth and District Civic Trust is keen to hear from anyone with ideas for the future of Wordsworth House. It said people can get in touch via their Facebook page or website https://www.cockermouthcivictrust.co.uk/
The National Trust looks after around 20 per cent of the Lake District National Park, including 100 mountains and 24 lakes and tarns, plus has tenant farmers.
Nationally, it is one of the largest landowners in the UK.
As well as Wordsworth House, it owns Wray Castle, Beatrix Potter’s home Hill Top. Acorn Bank, Allan Bank, Sizergh Castle, Fell Foot park, Townend, plus the Steam Yacht Gondola on Coniston Water, Aira Force waterfall and Claife Viewing Station.
What is the history of Wordsworth House and Garden?
The Romantic poet was born in the Georgian townhouse in 1770, the second of five children and the Wordsworths lived there until 1783, when his father John died, five years after his mother Ann passed away in Penrith.
Edward and Gabrielle Ellis lived there with their family in the 1930s, but when they decided to divorce in 1937, they sold to Cumberland Motor Services.
The bus firm wanted to demolish the house to make way for a bus garage, but the people of Cockermouth formed a committee to stop it going ahead.
They raised £1,625 to buy Wordsworth House and handed it over to the National Trust.
The National Trust, on its website, said this was so Wordsworth House could be “looked after for everyone, for ever”.
