Weekend Deviation – Orwell in Wallington

A bit of a deviation I admit but as I noted Orwell’s Oxfordshire grave the other day I thought I’d also slip in his former house in Wallington, Hertfordshire. In my recent rambling across England I also happened to pass by Wallington while taking the slow and winding road from London to Cambridge – couldn’t resist a quick detour. Orwell lived in Wallington while writing The Road to Wigan Pier – Orwell needed somewhere he could concentrate and his Aunt Nellie who was living in a cottage at Wallington came to the rescue. Wallington was (and is) a  small village and Orwell lived in a very small cottage called the “Stores” with almost no modern facilities. Orwell took over the tenancy and had moved in by 2 April 1936. He left when he’d finished the book and then went of to Spain.

Below two shots of Orwell’s old cottage (now looking like a highly desirable property) and the buzzing heart of Wallington on a Sunday afternoon.