“I want to git wed”: Readings from the Grasmere Dialect Plays, introduced by Sue Wilkinson
The Grasmere Dialect Plays, written and produced by Eleanor Rawnsley (neé Simpson), second wife of Canon Hardwicke Rawnsley (co-founder of the National Trust) are a remarkable part of Cumbrian history.
Staged in the Grasmere Village Hall between 1905 and 1937, the plays were a national – and international – sensation at the time.
Performed by Grasmere villagers in local (Westmorland) dialect, they have entertaining and improbable plots, featuring thwarted lovers, competing suitors and meddling relatives – all with happy endings.
The plays were never published: a few printed scripts still survive, together with some photographs and reviews of performances, held at the Wordsworth Trust and the Armitt Museum.
About the speaker
Sue Wilkinson is a committee member of the Lakeland Dialect Society, and graduated (with Distinction) from the University of Cumbria’s MA ‘Literature, Romanticism and the English Lake District’ in 2024. She’s made three podcasts about the Grasmere Dialect Plays, and curated the Armitt’s ‘Book of the Season’ in early 2025: the 1906 Grasmere Dialect Play “Pace Eggin’ Time”.
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Visitor information
Address
Rydal Road, Ambleside, Cumbria, LA22 9BL
01539 431212
Opening times
February-March: Wednesday-Saturday 10:30am-4:30pm (last admission 4pm).
April-October: Tuesday-Saturday 10am-5pm (last admission 4:30pm).
November-December: Wednesday-Saturday 10:30am-4:30pm (last admission 4pm).
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