John Milton and Chalfont St Giles

This year marks the 400th birthday of John Milton, the great English poet and parliamentarian who resided in the village Chalfont St Giles. This beautiful village is only a stones throw from The Bull Hotel and is home to Milton’s cottage which is now a museum open to the public.

In 1665, 23 years before the Bull Hotel was opened to the public, John Milton and his wife moved into the cottage to escape the plague in London. Whilst at the cottage Milton completed his best known work Paradise Lost and the idea of Paradise Regained was put to him. The cottage is the only one of Milton’s many dwellings to survive and it has changed little since the 17th century. The 4 ground floor museum rooms contain important editions of Milton’s poetry, together with many prose writings that were published during his lifetime and shortly after. The garden is stocked with the plants and flowers that Milton so beautifully describes in his poetry. The garden is also open to the public and like the museum is well worth a visit.

Entrance fees are £4 for adults, £2 for children under 15 and for parties of 20 or more £3. Opening times are 10am-1pm and 2pm-6pm. Although open on Bank Holidays, the cottage is closed on Mondays and is open from the 1st of March until the 31st October. Because it is such a special year the museum will also be opening in November and December. For more details please refer to the museums website.

Whilst visiting this grade 1 listed XV1th Century cottage described by Thomas Ellwood as “that pretty box in St Giles, Chalfont” why not take in the sights and sounds of our neighbouring village. Chalfont St Giles is an archetypal English village and is steeped in history. Start at the river Misbourne then walk down and see the Saracens Stone, part of a Roman road which was only discovered in recent years. Then visit their church of Norman origins and see the memorial to Captain Cook the discoverer of Australia.

Then why not return to The Bull Hotel and relax with our famous afternoon tea whilst discussing the history that surrounds Gerrards Cross and The Bull Hotel. You could even chose the afternoon tea option of an accompanying glass of champagne and raise a glass to the 400th birthday of one of our most famous neighbours.

Written by Michelle Mayes, Front Office Manager at The Bull Hotel