In 1938, his younger brother A. W. Lawrence presented Clouds Hill to the National Trust. This small building remains much as Lawrence left it, and perhaps more than any other place with a Lawrence connection, it so evokes the memory of the man.
Though Lawrence rejoined the RAF in 1925, he decided to buy the cottage and thereby keep his connection with Dorset. It remained a holiday place, for himself and his friends and family to whom he lent it.
Over the years he made a series of improvements so as to make a home for his retirement. His own regard for the cottage is summed up in a letter he wrote to Lady Nancy Astor on May 8 1935, ‘No: wild mares would not at present take me away from Clouds Hill. It is an earthly paradise and I am staying here until I feel qualified for it.’
Clouds Hill is open to visitors from March to November. See the National Trust website for opening times. https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/dorset/clouds-hill
Society member and Clouds Hill volunteer Martin Gething has been researching the history of the cottage in the period before T E Lawrence started renting it in 1923. To learn more, visit our Clouds Hill History Page.